How cozy was Border Patrol with smuggler?

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | February 12, 2007 | Jerome Corsi

[Man50D]

The Border Patrol agent with family ties to the Mexican drug smuggler in the case of two jailed border agents may have been involved in back-channel communications with Mexican drug cartels, investigative reports obtained by WND suggest, prompting calls for a special prosecutor to look into the charges.

"We now know that DHS and prosecutor U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton found [smuggler Osbaldo] Aldrete-Davila because the mother-in-law of Border Patrol Agent Rene Sanchez talked with Aldrete-Davila's mother on the phone," Andy Ramirez, chairman of the Friends of the Border Patrol, told WND. "How many other conversations in Mexico did Border Patrol Agent Rene Sanchez have and what was the purpose of those conversations?"

An investigative report filed by Department of Homeland Security Special Agent Christopher Sanchez on July 18, 2005, stated that on July 11, 2005, the DHS Office of Inspector General in El Paso spoke to Agent Rene Sanchez in the Wilcox, Ariz., BP Station, concerning a telephone call Sanchez made to Border Patrol Agent Nolan Blanchett in the Ysleta BP Station in Texas.

At the time of the phone call, Blanchett was temporarily assigned to the Fabens BP Station, the scene of the Feb. 17, 2005, incident with Aldrete-Davila that led to the imprisonment of agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean.

According to the July 18, 2005, DHS memorandum of activity:

(Rene) Sanchez stated that he called Blanchett one or two days after he spoke to DHS OIG on March 5, 2005. Sanchez said he asked Blanchett if he knew anything about a shooting that occurred on February 17, 2005 involving a van loaded with dope in which BP agents shot at the driver. Sanchez said Blanchett told him he knew nothing about the shooting.

A separate March 14, 2005, DHS memorandum of activity filed by Christopher Sanchez, documents that agent Rene Sanchez "queried the Border Patrol Tracking System and found that the Fabens Border Patrol Station seized a load of marijuana on February 17, 2005."

These reports drew the suspicion of Ramirez.

"Why is this Border Patrol Agent Rene Sanchez over in Wilcox, Arizona, so interested in searching out this drug bust information in Fabens, Texas?" Ramirez asked WND. "Sure, we know that Aldrete-Davila and Rene Sanchez grew up together in Mexico. But how much more to the story is there than that?"

WND has learned that prosecutor Sutton's office took steps to prevent Agent Nolan Blanchett from testifying in open court, claiming that Blanchett's testimony would compromise an ongoing investigation.

WND has also learned that Blanchett had received phone calls from BP Agent Rene Sanchez tipping Blanchett off that a sensor hit was about to take place on the border, giving advance warning that a drug-smuggling transport across the border was going to take place. Knowing in advance the when and where of a sensor hit on the border would allow a Border Patrol agent to be in position to interdict the drug shipment and arrest the smuggler.

"How do we know that Agent Rene Sanchez wasn't working with Aldrete-Davila's drug cartel?" Ramirez asked. "Calling Blanchett in advance and letting him know where to interdict a drug shipment might be a good way to eliminate the competition of Aldrete-Davila or whomever he is linked to."

At the Ramos-Compean trial, the defense was not allowed to call Border Patrol Blanchett to the stand for testimony.

"The connection is a little bit too convenient," Ramirez pointed out to WND. "Here we have this Border Patrol Agent Rene Sanchez over in Wilcox, Ariz., and the only way DHS and Johnny Sutton's office find out that Aldrete-Davila was the drug smuggler is because Rene Sanchez tips them off. Then Aldrete-Davila gets immunity and medical care from the prosecutor. Just how closely was Rene Sanchez working with the drug smuggler and what did Rene Sanchez stand to gain when Aldrete-Davila got immunity?"

WND has previously reported Aldrete-Davila's cell phone was found in the abandoned vehicle. This directly contradicts prosecutor Sutton's repeated claim that there was no evidence at the scene, which would have permitted law-enforcement investigators to identify Aldrete-Davila as the perpetrator.

"Where is Aldrete-Davila's telephone?" Ramirez asked WND. "I wonder if Rene Sanchez's phone number was one of the numbers in that phone's memory, or maybe others of higher ranks inside U.S. government agencies or bodies. But then again, what if this guy is a runner for the Tucson Mafia and I am not referring to people of European ancestry either. Why is it that even today nobody knows what network of people Aldrete-Davila called? Why isn't Johnny Sutton going after the drug dealer's network? He gave Davila immunity, not the people Davila liked to call."

WND has obtained the transcripts from the Ramos-Compean trial for the testimony given by Border Patrol Agent Arturo Vasquez on Feb. 24, 2006, and by Agent Oscar Juarez on Feb. 23 and 24, 2006. Both agents gave testimony about the drug dealer's cell phone they found on the scene on Feb. 17, 2005.

Vasquez testified he found the phone in the front seat of the abandoned drug smuggler's Ford Econoline van, with a charging device plugged into the cigarette lighter.

In cross-examination by defense, Vasquez testified about the cell phone as follows:

Q: While you're looking at the phone, you're scrolling through whatever information you can find? A: Yes.

Q: Did you notice whether or not any of the calls are recent?

A: I didn't have the chance to find what I was looking for. I didn't have enough time to get into some of the directory, the actual directory where you can get that information from. Because, while we were going that (Supervisor) Agent (Jonathan) Richards and Lance (Mendrano) got to the area and I had to hand the phone over to Agent Mendrano.

Q: I thought your testimony, though, was tat was, pretty much, all you do is check out the phone.

A: Yes, but I didn't get to the part where I could actually see times and all that.

At this point, prosecutor Debra Kanof interrupted and objected that the testimony was not relevant to the guilt or innocence of Ramos and Compean. Judge Kathleen Cardone agreed, commenting, "It's late on a Friday ... ."

Judge Cardone ruled out cross-examination about the cell phone, stating: "Mr. Aldrete-Davila is not on trial. And everybody knows he's got a phone and everybody knows he was transporting the drugs, but, unless we're getting somewhere that's got to do with this case, I'm concerned we're going of ... ." At that point, Judge Cardone was interrupted once again by Debra Kanof.

On page 186 of his testimony, Agent Juarez corroborated Agent Vasquez's testimony that the drug smuggler's cell phone was found in the abandoned van containing 743 pounds of marijuana.

WND is unable to determine who currently has possession of the cell phone or if any law-enforcement officers made any attempt to identify the owner or the identify of the names in the incoming and outgoing call memory, or the service provider records of the same.

As far as WND can determine, no law-enforcement agency made any attempt to identify Aldrete-Davila's drug network or associates from the recovered cell phone, or if agents were able to determine if the phone records indicate any calls to or received from Border Patrol agents or others connected with U.S. agencies or law enforcement.

As WND previously reported, Agent Vasquez was fired by the Border Patrol and Agent Juarez resigned in anticipation of being fired.

[TheBattman]

The US Constitution protects the rights of citizens of foreign countries who enter our country illegally, right? In fact, they have more rights - because you cannot even ask them if they are legal residents anymore...

[Ajnin]

And yet somehow multiple BP agents have shot multiple illegals, and Sutton hasn't prosecuted any of them and we haven't had multi-million-dollar lawsuits.

You don't know if there were any lawsuits. You have no knowledge of what occured after the shootings. Just because those agents weren't prosecuted doesn't mean that Sutton didn't try to prosecute them. More than likely there were lawsuits and the government settled.

Only in this one case where the two agents shot a man for no reason.

Yeah sure, it always a good idea to call a bunch of other federal agents to witness you murder somebody.

[1rudeboy]

Here's and idea for you, and welcome to FR. If you choose to accuse me of "deception," then please provide the where and when. Otherwise, stfu.

[TKDietz]

"Another thing that really bothers me about this case is the jury. The prosecution presented the case that the agents shot an unarmed man and tried to cover it up. Please, how can ANYBODY, with a working brain, even think that someone carrying that amount of dope WOULD NOT BE ARMED??????"

I've handled thousands of pounds worth of marijuana mule cases as a public defender. In real life, it is fairly rare that one of these mules carrying hundreds of pounds of marijuana is also carrying a gun. It does happen, but in most cases they are not carrying weapons.

[1rudeboy]

You and I have a different interpretation of the term, "mule."

[khnyny]

Big 'ol bump.

The posters who try and defend this case against Ramos and Campean truly astound me with their tenacity and ignorance in trying to defend the indefensible.

[Dante3]

You really are in a frenzy against these Border Patrol agents, almost like a full-time job. Every time I check, there you are with more hate and spin.

[1rudeboy]

Yup. For those of you keeping score, that is a textbook ad hominem.

[TKDietz]

"I'm not in the drug business so I don't understand the difference between a mule and a smuggler. Are you saying that the drug dealers in Mexico would be ok with losing 748 lbs. of dope? I heard the street value was over 1 mil. Was he the only one in the van or were there others who also escaped?"

A mule is someone paid to transport drugs who does not actually own the drugs. People dealing in huge quantities of drugs tend to pay others to handle the drugs for them. They wouldn't dare transport large quantities of dope themselves. They hire people to move it for them, and often the people they pay to move it are hiring others to do the work. For the big drug kingpin, the more layers of people between him and the drugs the better. I've represented a lot of drug mules and I think a lot of them don't really even know exactly who owns the drugs they are transporting. Most aren't the hardcore gangbanger types. Most of them actually have clean records, or at least relatively clean records. I think the people recruiting them are looking for fairly clean cut harmless looking people who won't just automatically make police suspicious by their looks or even a quick criminal record check. Most of these guys don't have any money and they aren't too bright and a lot of them are just shocked that they're actually going to have to go to prison. I think the people that recruit them tell them they'll get probation if they get caught because they have clean records. In many cases, these guys won't even have bond money. The "cartels" do not post bond for them or hire them lawyers. That's why we public defenders tend to get most all of these cases.

As for Mexican drug dealers being upset about losing 748 pounds of dope, well I'm sure it doesn't make them happy but it is not as big of a deal as it may seem. It's not really worth over a million dollars. That's just nonsense. Shoot, in Houston or Dallas you can easily get a pound of Mexican in the $400 or $500 a pound range, cheaper if you buy enough of it. In Mexico I doubt very seriously these guys are even paying a hundred bucks a pound when they buy in huge bulk purchases. I've heard that in tight with farmers growing it down there can buy a few dozen or more pounds for closer to fifty bucks a pound. Mexican pot is dirt cheap, especially in Mexico. These guys go for quantity, not quality. I've seen tons of the stuff and it's all seedy highly compressed "brick weed" that often sells for about $50 or $60 an ounce where I live. It only costs that much for end consumers because it's had to be smuggled into the country, transported several hundred miles to my town, and probably changed hands several times before it reaches the end consumer. This isn't the fancy indoor grown stuff "marijuana connoisseurs" pay outrageous prices for. It's commercial grade "schwag." I doubt very seriously the people in Mexico that owned this dope even paid anywhere close to a hundred grand for all 748 pounds.

The big guys in the marijuana business expect to lose some loads. That's just a cost of doing business for them, kind of like a tax. For every load that gets popped though, several more make it through. And contrary to popular belief, they do not kill people who get busted with a load of their dope. That would be stupid of them. If that was the standard procedure then all these mules who get caught who know something would talk, or at least agree to deliver the loads the rest of the way under police surveillance so law enforcement could bust the guys at the end of the line. They'd do whatever they could for police protection. Real life in the drug trade is not much like the crap you see on TV.

[CharlesWayneCT]

you just said welcome to a guy who's been here since 1999.

[TKDietz]

"See, Charles...what we have then is which is the greater crime? Shooting a DRUG DEALER who drove across the border with the intent of selling his million dollars worth of drugs?"

It is very unlikely that this was his dope. People dealing in this kind of quantity tend to stay away from their product. They make plenty of money to pay people to take these kinds of risks for them. I've handled a lot of drug mule cases, thousands of pounds worth of them. These people that transport the dope are at the bottom of the pile when it comes to the drug trade. That's why most all of them end up with public defenders rather than high priced lawyers you would expect drug kingpins to hire. If this guy was hired to take this load across a few states he was probably going to earn somewhere in the neighborhood of five grand, maybe more, depending on how far he was going to have to take it. If he was actually the one who took it across the border he probably would have made more, but from what I am reading he was to take the wheel of a van full of dope after it was already smuggled into this country. If that's the case then how much money he would make would depend a lot on whether he was just driving it to a safe house not too far away in Texas or driving it out east several states over.

As for that pot being worth a million dollars, that's a bunch of nonsense. The people who bought it in Mexico probably paid a good bit less than a hundred grand for it, maybe even less than fifty grand. In Texas it would be worth maybe four or five hundred a pound, cheaper probably if bought several pounds at a time. It may be worth a million dollars by the time it reaches end consumers, but it would have changed hands a lot of times before then. The people that owned it at the time it was seized would have never made anywhere close to a million dollars on that load had it gotten through.

[spectre]

Thank you, TK. Very informative post. Good to hear from someone who knows about these things, first hand.

sw

[panthermom]

Bless his heart, poor thing. Now that we know he was really just a driver and not a regular we should just let him have that 5 mil. he is going to be suing us for. Also maybe they can give him honorary citizenship and the key to the city. Oh, and what about a parade. Silly me, all this time I thought sneaking into the country and transporting 748 lbs. of pot was illegal.

[CharlesWayneCT]

I hope not. If he sues and wins, I hope we give him a buck for his trouble, and a jail cell for admitting in the civil case that he was driving around with pot in a Van.

[CyberAnt]

Well .. I can think of several other ways of protecting a possibly compromised agent .. rather than railroading them into prison.

This whole mess just stinks to high heaven .. and some heads better roll over this before it's done. How about starting with the female head of the prison .. just a typical liberal .. cannot run anything because they don't believe in making anybody accountable for their actions. It's about time she was made accountable for hers.

Don't get me started!!

[editor-surveyor]

The compromised agent is not in prison, although he clearly belongs there.

[editor-surveyor]

Your constant attack against Worldnetdaily is pure deception. It is the only straight shooting news source on the web. If we lose WND, we'll lose our freedom much quicker.

Your posts here have always been odorous, and disgusting, and you are getting worse.

[Ajnin]

I hope not. If he sues and wins, I hope we give him a buck for his trouble, and a jail cell for admitting in the civil case that he was driving around with pot in a Van.

LOL, you have got to be kidding with this line of crap. There isn't going to be any civil case. You want the agents to be guilty of attempted murder and Aldrete innocent of all charges.

[1rudeboy]

I know, I was just trying to get under his skin. He accused me of "deception," and I was wonder if he had the balls to back it up. I got my answer.

[editor-surveyor]

1997 actually. Had to re-register in early 98 because of compuserve destroying my email account.