Posted: 08/04/2011 08:30:37 AM MDT
The allegations are part of the defense of Vicente Zambada-Niebla, who was extradited to the United States to face drug-trafficking charges in Chicago. He is also a top lieutenant of drug kingpin Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman and the son of Ismael "Mayo" Zambada-Garcia, believed to be the brains behind the Sinaloa cartel.
The case could prove to be a bombshell on par with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' "Operation Fast and Furious," except that instead of U.S. guns being allowed to walk across the border, the Sinaloa cartel was allowed to bring drugs into the United States. Zambada-Niebla claims he was permitted to smuggle drugs from 2004 until his arrest in 2009.
Randall Samborn, assistant U.S. attorney and spokesman for the Justice Department in Chicago, declined comment.
The court in Chicago had a status hearing on Wednesday and ordered the government to respond to allegations in Zambada-Niebla's motion by Sept. 11.
According to the court documents, Mexican lawyer Humberto Loya-Castro, another high-level Sinaloa cartel leader, had his 1995 U.S. drug-trafficking case dismissed in 2008 after serving as an informant for 10 years for the U.S. government.
Guzman and the Zambadas allegedly provided agents of the Drug Enforcement
Administration, FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with information about other Mexican drug traffickers through Loya-Castro.
"Loya himself continued his drug trafficking activities with the knowledge of the United States government without being arrested or prosecuted," the court documents state.
Zambada-Niebla met voluntarily with U.S. federal agents on March 17, 2009, at the Sheraton Hotel in Mexico City, which is near the U.S. Embassy, "for the purpose of his continuing to provide information to the DEA and the U.S. government personally, rather than through Loya," court records allege.
"DEA agents (then) told Loya-Castro to tell Mr. Zambada-Niebla that they wanted to continue the same arrangements with him as they had with Mr. Loya-Castro."
Five hours after the meeting, Mexican authorities arrested Zambada-Niebla and extradited him later to the United States. His father and Guzman are fugitives.
The court documents also allege that the U.S. government is using a "divide and conquer" strategy, "using one drug organization to help against others."
Zambada-Niebla's motion seeks U.S. government records about the 2003 Juárez case involving an informant who participated in several homicides for the Carrillo-Fuentes drug cartel, while under ICE's supervision.
He also requested records about the ATF's "Operation Fast and Furious," which permitted weapons purchased illegally in the United States to be smuggled into Mexico, sometimes by paid U.S. informants and cartel leaders.
"It is estimated that approximately 3,000 people were killed in Mexico as a result of 'Operation Fast and Furious,' including law enforcement officers in the state of Sinaloa, Mexico, the headquarters of the Sinaloa cartel," the court documents allege. "The Department of Justice's leadership apparently saw this as an ingenious way of combating drug cartel activities."
Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6140.
5 comments:
I just hope local and state cops busting users for possession are bright enough to grasp what articles like this mean.
They are destroying people's lives for no reason. The gov is letting tons of cocaine and heroin (actually helping to grow it too) into the U.S.
The war on drugs is fake, cops are risking their lives and destroying the lives of people that they bust just to keep drug prices high for the cartels and the banks.
Cops, you're being used, stop enforcing drug laws until the government stops importing drugs. BTW, the gov will never stop importing drugs.
The state & local BFIWs don't care, as long as it keeps their paychecks coming: Like all other Papists, they have debts to pay on.
Ted - Sadly, I think you're probably right.
A lot of the more dumbed down cops have probably only heard of a moral dilemma. They just know it's something that smart honest people have, nothing they need to be concerned about.
BP is spot on. The war on drugs is a joke, and I would love to live in a parallel universe where they legalized drugs just to see how much different our world might be.
Billy - You guys are bringing me down...to reality.
Mr. Shife - I think that universe would be soooo much better.
Things got much better when they legalized alcohol.
If they really wanted to mess up the drug dealers they would legalize, regulate and tax all drugs.
Trouble is, the government (parts of) is the highest level drug dealer. So they want as much left illegal as possible.
Post a Comment