Border Patrol agents’ case, House of Death go to the heart of Justice scandal

It seems the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, overseen by Johnny Sutton from his throne in San Antonio, has a PR problem when it comes to dealing with drug smugglers.

In the high-profile case of the two Border Patrol agents in Texas who are now serving long prison terms for shooting a drug smuggler in the rear end, conservative media outlets are proclaiming that Sutton’s office showed special favor to the smuggler in order to ruin the lives of the agents.

Likewise, in the House of Death mass murder case, an informant was shown special consideration by Sutton’s office after a run-in with Border Patrol agents in New Mexico, recent documents uncovered by Narco News show.

The two Border Patrol agents at the center of the controversy in Texas were stationed near El Paso in February 2005 when one of them shot a drug smuggler in the butt cheek after a bungled apprehension attempt and then allegedly covered-up the evidence of the shooting. The agents (Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean) were prosecuted by Sutton’s office, convicted by a jury of violating the smuggler’s civil rights and of covering up evidence, and each sentenced to more than a decade in prison.

Sutton, in a Jan. 19 appearance on FoxNews, said the Border Patrol agents in this case “deliberately lied, deliberately covered-up … and filed false reports” about the shooting of the smuggler, an individual named Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila. Sutton also stressed that a jury convicted the agents based on the facts, which he alleged have been distorted by the media.

The fate of Ramos and Compean is likely to continue to be a flashpoint in the divisive battle over immigration. Those on the right who have rallied to the agents’ cause claim they are victims of the Bush administration’s pro-illegal immigration agenda and of its cozy relations with the rulers of Mexico.

Such a conspiracy theory makes for sexy headlines in the world of political punditry. But could it be that there is a much more human-scale reason for Sutton’s aggressive prosecution of Ramos and Compean, and his kit-glove treatment of the drug mule Aldrete-Davila?

It pays for a prosecutor to appear tough on crime, particularly when it comes to the alleged misconduct of law enforcers – such as Ramos and Compean. The payback can be even greater if it diverts the media spotlight away from the skeletons in the prosecutor’s own backyard.

For evidence of that, we only need to turn to the House of Death mass murder case, which also was overseen by Sutton’s office.

As you recall, in that case, a U.S. government informant helped to arrange, and even participated in, the murders of a dozen people in Juarez as part of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation targeting a narco-trafficking cell headed by Heriberto Santillan-Tabares. To date, not one U.S. law enforcer or prosecutor has been held accountable in a criminal court for their complicity in the House of Death murders.

But you can never be to safe on that front, if you’re a powerful prosecutor working for a paranoid administration with a lot of political enemies. So when an opportunity presents itself to produce a script for the mainstream media that depicts you as being tough on law enforcement corruption, as it did with the case of Ramos and Compean, then a politically astute prosecutor naturally jumps at the opportunity.

It’s the perfect way to divert attention away from your own bungled, and possibly criminal, handling of a quite separate law-enforcement corruption case that could ruin your career and deepen the political troubles of the administration you serve. And, as in the House of Death, if the ongoing cover-up implicates even high-level officials in the government, possibly even the White House, all the more reason to reach for a script that will divert attention away from your problems.

So, Ramos and Compean become the perfect scapegoats for a politically motivated prosecution based not on a grand conspiracy to create a New World Order, but rather on the very human desire to protect your neck. In the wake of the U.S. Attorney purge, and its charges of politically motivated prosecutions, is that such a far-fetched speculation?

But as with every plan of man, the world always has its own way. And now Sutton and his boss, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, face a major backlash – on the right due to the Ramos and Compean case, and on the left due to the recent U.S. Attorney purge.

But ironically, should these esteemed leaders take a fall from their wall due to their political miscalculations, it can be argued that a pair of drug smugglers, and the House of Death, helped to push them off their perch.

In the House of Death case, court documents obtained by Narco News show (similar to the case of Ramos and Compean) that Border Patrol agents early on apprehended a key player, Guillermo Ramirez Peyro, for attempting to smuggle dope across the U.S. border.

And just as in the Ramos and Compean case, the drug smuggler Ramirez Peyro (who also happened to be a U.S. government informant) received favorable treatment, approved at high levels in Washington, D.C. This was done in order to protect an ongoing narco-trafficking investigation.

Importantly in this case, at the time Border Patrol agents caught up with Ramirez Peyro, he allegedly was acting on his own and had not informed his U.S. government handlers (at the time both DEA and ICE) of his freelance dope smuggling enterprise.

Following is a court record, which is filed as an exhibit in a federal civil case in El Paso, Texas, that details Ramirez Peyro’s arrest:

On June 28, 2003 at approximately 5:05 PM, a maroon Chevrolet pickup bearing Chihuahua, Mexico license plate DK78967 entered the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) Checkpoint, located on Interstate 25 at milemarker 26, near Las Cruces, New Mexico, driven by Guillermo RAMIREZ-Peyro, the sole occupant of the vehicle. USBP Agent Aaron Serrano approached the driver’s window and inquired about Mr. RAMIREZ’ citizenship. Agent Villalva noted that Mr. RAMIREZ was visibly nervous as he spoke. RAMIREZ became confused when Agent Serrano inquired about ownership of the vehicle. Based on Mr. RAMIREZ’ nervousness and inconsistent statements, Agent Serrano requested to search Mr. RAMIREZ’ vehicle with a narcotics canine. Mr. RAMIREZ consented to Agent Serano’s request to inspect the vehicle.

Agent Rudy Sanchez searched Mr. RAMIREZ’ vehicle with his narcotics canine “Tiros.” The canine alerted to the vehicle and upon further inspection, Agent Sanchez discovered approximately 100 pounds of marijuana concealed in the tires of Mr. RAMIREZ’ vehicle.

Mr. RAMRIEZ was advised of his Miranda Rights in Spanish and agreed to answer questions. Mr. RAMIREZ said he knew he was transporting narcotics.

District Attorney Susana Martinez authorized prosecution of Mr. RAMIREZ for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

I do solemnly declare and affirm under perjury that the matters and facts set forth in this statement are true to the best of my knowledge, information and belief.

So it appears the Border Patrol agents and DEA agent Garcia made a solid arrest, a victory in the war on drugs, right?

The district attorney’s office in Dona Ana County, N.M., appeared to think so, based on the following grand jury notice issued to Guillermo Ramirez Peyro – also filed as an exhibit in the El Paso civil litigation:

Pursuant to the provisions of N.M. Stat. … you are hereby notified that you are a target of a Grand Jury investigation concerning, but not limited to, the charge(s) of: Distribution of Marijuana Over 100#, occurring on or about June 28, 2003 ….

As a target of this investigation, you have an opportunity to testify before the Grand Jury, if you desire to do so. Before you testify, you are hereby advised that you have a constitutional right to remain silent, and that anything you do say during the testimony before the Grand Jury can and will be used against you in any future proceedings.

If you choose to testify before the Grand Jury, you have the right to be represented by an attorney. Your attorney may be present while you are testifying and may advise you. However, your attorney many not otherwise participate in the proceedings. If you and your attorney sign a document stating you will assert a Fifth Amendment privilege, you will be excused from testifying on those matters as to which the District Court determines you have a valid Fifth Amendment privilege.

Should you choose to testify, be present in the Dona Ana County Judicial Complex, 201 W. Picacho, Las Cruces, New Mexico, on: THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2003 AT 8:30 A.M.

But strangely, only days before the Grand Jury date, the case against Ramirez Peyro suddenly fell apart, as evidenced by this notice issued by the district attorney’s office on July 2, 2003 (and also part of the record in the El Paso civil case):

The complaint filed in this case is dismissed without prejudice pending further investigation.

So what happened? Why was this seemingly iron-clad case against Ramirez Peyro suddenly dismissed?

The answer to that question also can be found in the exhibits of the El Paso civil case. It seems an Assistant U.S. Attorney in El Paso, who works under Sutton, intervened in the New Mexico case to protect the informant and an ongoing federal investigation.

From the Sept. 12, 2006, sworn affidavit of Assistant U.S. Attorney Juanita Fielden

On the evening of June 28, 2003, I was contacted by ICE group supervisor (GS) Todd Johnson who advised me that a confidential informant (SA913-EP, hereinafter referred to as the CI [Ramirez Peyro]) had been stopped at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Las Cruces, New Mexico in possession of approximately 100 pounds of marijuana which was concealed in his vehicle. This was unauthorized criminal activity on the part of the CI. The CI was arrested by Las Cruces, New Mexico, DEA Special Agent Mike Garcia and the case was referred to the State prosecutor.

The next week a meeting was held at the United States Attorney’s Office regarding the ramification of the CI’s arrest. Attending this meeting were members of ICE management (ASAC Fred Schroeder, GS Todd Johnson and GS Curtis Compton) and AUSAs [Assistant U.S. Attorneys] Margaret Leachman, Jose Luis Gonzales and me. After a lengthy discussion, the consensus was that if the CI was closely monitored he could continue to be effective and provide significant information on both the El Paso investigations, as well as a Chicago investigation [both related to the House of Death].

The ICE agents indicated that, pursuant to ICE policy, they would attempt to get the approval of the Special Agent in Charge (at the time it was an Acting SAC) to continue to use the CI. If the agents obtained approval to continue to utilize the CI, I would call the State prosecutor in New Mexico and ask that they suspend prosecution based upon the CI’s continued cooperation. GS Todd Johnson called me later and said that he had obtained the Acting SAC’s approval to continue to use the CI. I then called the State prosecutor who agreed to defer prosecution as long as the CI cooperated. The State charge was eventually dropped in December 2003, at my request.

So Ramirez Peyro, like the drug smuggler in the Ramos and Compean case, through the decisions made by Sutton’s office, had beaten a drug rap that would have landed most people in jail for a long time.

In the case of Ramos and Compean, the intervention by Sutton’s office led to an immunity deal for the drug smuggler that resulted in the two Border Patrol agents being sent to federal prison.

In the case of Ramirez Peyro, however, the consequences of the federal intervention led to the brutal murders of at least a dozen people in Juarez.

Another twist in the plot, with respect to Ramirez Peyro, is that at least one of the agencies using him as an informant, the DEA, refused to go along with the program, and ended their relationship with him as a result of the New Mexico drug bust.

The following is from a DEA document obtained by Narco News through a Freedom of Information Act request:

June 28, 2003 - CS [Ramirez Peyro] arrested by U.S. Border Patrol in possession of approx. 100 lbs. of marijuana.

June 28, 2003 – The CJRO [DEA’s office in Juarez] was contacted by BICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and advised that the CS was arrested in possession of 102 lbs. of marijuana on June 28, 2003. BICE further advised that the CS was attempting to get closer to a new target and did not have time to contact BICE or CJRO controlling Agents. The CS was immediately deactivated by the CJRO.

It is important to note here the discrepancy between what ICE allegedly told DEA (that Ramirez Peyro “was attempting to get closer to a new target” as part of his work for the U.S. government) and what Fielden states in her affidavit (that “this was unauthorized criminal activity on the part of the CI.”)

DEA obviously was not convinced by ICE’s rationalization and instead believed that Ramirez Peyro was acting on his own, double crossing both ICE and DEA, which is what led DEA to make the decision to “deactivate” him as an informant. However, it appears ICE, with the cooperation of Assistant U.S. Attorney Fielden and Sutton’s office, decided that pursuing their drug case, and the political and career-enhancing glory that could bring, was more important than the law.

That fateful decision paved the path for the informant, only about a month later, to participate in the first murder at the House of Death.

August 5, 2003 – CS [Ramirez Peyro] participated in a drug-related execution of FERNANDO [Reyes] in Ciudad Juarez. This homicide was the result of a conspiracy between SANTILLAN, the CS, and others to steal approximately 1,000 pounds of marijuana from FERNANDO [Reyes]. Post incident statements given by the CS to BICE indicated that the CS was posing as a drug transporter who was to move the marijuana across the U.S./Mexico border and deliver it to recipients to be designated by FERNANDO [Reyes].

So, as part of yet another attempt to smuggle drugs across the U.S. border, (while working as a U.S. government informant) Ramirez Peyro participated in the torture and murder of Fernando Reyes, a Mexican attorney, at the House of Death at 3633 Parsioneros in Juarez.

At that point, you would think Sutton’s office would draw a line in the sand and end the investigation, to prevent the loss of more lives. But you would be wrong if that’s what you thought.

Again, it appears ICE and Sutton’s office, as well as high-level officials within the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (which oversees ICE) were not going to let a little thing like the murder of a Mexican citizen get in the way of their drug-war “victory.”

…. On or about August 5, 2003, I was contacted at home by ICE GS Curtis Compton and advised of a murder [of Fernando Reyes] that had taken place in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico in which Santillan-Tabares was involved. The incident had been recorded by the CI [Ramirez Peyro, who also participated in the murder]. I, in turn, contacted my supervisor, Assistant United States Attorney Margaret Leachman. She later told me that she had advised Richard Durbin, Chief of the Criminal Division for the Western District of Texas [Sutton’s office], of the incident. The next morning I spoke with my OCDETF [Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force] advisor, Greg Surovic and told him of the incident. It was some time later that I learned that the individual murdered was identified as Fernando Reyes.

On or about August 25, 2003, I was provided an ICE memo prepared by SA Luis Garcia which detailed an August 6, 2003 interview of the CI [Ramirez Peyro] wherein he discussed the events surrounding the murder of Fernando Reyes on August 5, 2003. The CI stated he feared for his life during this event. It was my understanding that from August 6, 2003, until August 21, 2003, Santillan-Tabares was in the interior of Mexico. I am aware that the El Paso ICE agents notified ICE management in Washington, D.C. and Mexico City, Mexico, of the murder which occurred on August 5, 2005, and that ICE management in El Paso and in Washington, D.C., approved the continued use of the CI and the continued investigation of Santillan-Tabres.

On September 4, 2003, United States District Judge Phillip Martinez, Western District of Texas, signed an order authorizing the continued interception of a cellular telephone (915-892-8888). The affidavit for the continued wire interception discussed the murder of Fernando Reyes on August 5, 2003. This affidavit was prepared by ICE Special Agent David Ortiz, reviewed and approved by his chain-of-command, reviewed by me and the Office of Enforcement Operations Attorney Nancy Brinkac and her supervisor and approved by Deputy Assistant Attorney General, John G. Malcolm.

… With respect to the rules or policies concerning the use of confidential informants, I reviewed the Attorney General’s 2002 Confidential Informant Guidelines, specifically, Section IV(B) – Notification of Unauthorized Illegal Activity. However, the final decision to continue to operate this particular informant, after his arrest in June 2003, was made by ICE Acting SAC, pursuant to their department guidelines. As noted previously, the ICE El Paso SAC, as well as ICE management in Washington, D.C., also authorized agents to proceed with the investigation after the August 5, 2003 murder.

Following the torture and murder of Fernando Reyes, at least another 11 people would find their way to the House of Death, which was operated by the narco-trafficker Santillan with the assistance of the U.S. government, via Ramirez Peyro. A dozen bodies – all victims of torture – were unearthed in the backyard of the House of Death in early 2004. And that discovery was only made after Santillan and his men targeted a DEA agent and his family for a trip to the House of Death, which finally forced ICE and Sutton’s office to pull the plug on their informant’s activities in Juarez.

Now ask yourself, if our government was willing to go to those lengths to pursue a drug-case prosecution along the border, do you think the lives of two Hispanic Border Patrol agents would be protected from sacrifice on the alter of career ambition?

Sometimes, instead of looking for grand conspiracy theories, all we need to do is look for the cancers that all too often afflict the human heart — racism, pride, greed and the lust for power.

Sandy Gonzalez is the former chief of DEA’s El Paso field office who blew the whistle on the government’s complicity in the House of Death mass murder and suffered the wrath of Sutton’s retaliation as a result. He summed up the thinking of the U.S. officials who fermented the bloody tragedy in Juarez (and the thinking behind their treatment of Ramos and Compean for that matter) in this way in a prior comment to Narco news:

If this [El Paso/Juarez] had been a city on the Canadian border, these murders would not have happened. Our government would not allow Canadian citizens to be tortured and murdered…. But, in the House of Death case, they did let it happen because it was El Paso and Juarez and a bunch of Mexicans that they don’t give a s- -t about.

I lost all respect for Bush and the flunkies that surround him when Federal SWAT Teams were sent in to arrest Dog Chapman.

To understand the significance of using these JBFT, the government is in effect saying "we will kill these subjects" without a court order/and/or a trial to remove them from society, as they are that great of a threat.

Then I read that these JBFT were used to arrest the BP guys in Texas.

I believe what Bush & Company are doing is trying to give Hillary an out for the events of Waco, TX. Remember, I voted for the idiot and gave a $1,000 to the Swifties.

So if Congress wants to impeach the Texas Mubler-vocal stumbler and his boy Gonzales, I really don't give a rat's tail.

“It’s the perfect way to divert attention away from your own bungled, and possibly criminal, handling of a quite separate law-enforcement corruption case that could ruin your career and deepen the political troubles of the administration you serve. And, as in the House of Death, if the ongoing cover-up implicates even high-level officials in the government, possibly even the White House, all the more reason to reach for a script that will divert attention away from your problems.

UPDATE:

ICE Probe of Retaliation against House of Death Reporter Seriously Flawed

Monday, September 06 2010 @ 11:59 PM UTC

Federal Agency Investigates Itself and, “Surprise,” Finds No Wrongdoing, FOIA Records Show
ICE Probe of Retaliation against House of Death Reporter Seriously Flawed

Federal Agency Investigates Itself and, “Surprise,” Finds No Wrongdoing, FOIA Records Show

The internal affairs unit of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, whitewashed an investigation into an act of intimidation carried out by two of its agents against a journalist, according to an analysis of Freedom of Information Act documents.

The offending agents worked for ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility (internal affairs), which, like a scene out of Alice in Wonderland, turns out to be the very same unit that was charged with investigating the agents’ intimidating actions, the FOIA records reveal.

So, OPR was essentially investigating itself.

In addition, the OPR agents who “investigated” the offense failed to interview any of the witnesses to the intimidation or even the complaining party — the president of the Federal Hispanic Law Enforcement Officers Association (FHLEOA), Sandalio Gonzalez, a former high-ranking DEA commander.

“The [ICE/OPR] investigation was a sham,” says Gonzalez, who reviewed the FOIA records. “The principal witnesses were never interviewed nor was I as the complainant.

“… I worked for OPR [for a short time at the DEA] and it is standard procedure in any investigation to talk with the complainant and witnesses. … OPR is supposed to be the guardian of integrity for the agency, and here they are accused of misconduct and they investigate themselves. That’s total B.S.”

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, failed to return calls or to reply to an e-mail seeking comment on the FOIA documents.

The revelations in the FOIA records are seen as part of an ongoing effort by ICE to keep under wraps the agency’s complicity in the House of Death case — in which a paid ICE informant is accused of participating in multiple murders in Juarez, Mexico, with the knowledge of his ICE supervisors. The House of Death cover-up also implicates a former U.S. Attorney who is a close personal friend of former President George Bush.

http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20100906235930418

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