Pubdate: Thu, 14 May 2009
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Page: Front Page
Copyright: 2009 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company Division, Hearst Newspaper
Contact:  http://www.chron.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/198
Author: Dane Schiller

DEA: BRIBES TAINT LATE MEXICAN DRUG CZAR

A highly trusted former deputy attorney general, who later became
Mexico's drug czar and was embraced by Washington until his death, is
accused in a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration report of taking
bribes from one of Mexico's oldest narcotics trafficking cartels.

Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, killed in November in a mysterious
plane crash over Mexico City, is among three senior federal
law-enforcement officials named in an April 21-page DEA briefing on
organized crime and drug trafficking south of the border.

Vasconcelos was never charged with a crime. The other two are being
prosecuted by Mexico.

The report, prepared as a primer on drug cartels, does not say when,
or how much money was allegedly taken by Vasconcelos, who spearheaded
counternarcotics efforts for President Felipe Calderon and had similar
duties as deputy attorney general over fighting organized crime for
Calderon's predecessor, Vicente Fox.

He is alleged to have been snared by the Beltran Leyva organization,
which the DEA report says is known to use bribery and assassinations
to ensure its share of Mexico's drug trade, and go "toe to toe" with
larger syndicates.

When contacted Wednesday, DEA spokesman Garrison Courtney, said the
agency could neither refute nor offer a source for the highly charged
allegation, which appears in the report as fact. The information was
included without being fully vetted for release, Courtney said.

The Calderon administration declined comment.

Not Above Suspicion

Tony Garza, the former U.S. ambassador to Mexico who knew Vasconcelos
personally, said he was respected and trusted, but not above suspicion.

"Countless times, U.S. agents told me of his bravery," Garza said. "He
was not, however, immune to the suggestion he was tainted.

"We heard it, and others did, too. It's poker, you work with the hand
you are dealt; make the most of it, and don't bet the ranch."

Three retired DEA agents, who held senior posts and knew Vasconcelos,
said it's hard to believe he was corrupt and noted it doesn't take
long to be smeared in Mexico.

"Jesus Christ could be named the head of a law-enforcement agency
there and within hours they would be torching him and making
allegations against him," one of the former agents said.

Vasconcelos was behind many of Mexico's highest-profile actions
against the cartels, including extraditing Osiel Cardenas Guillen, the
reputed head of the Gulf Cartel, who faces trial in Houston later this
year.

The contention that Vasconcelos may have been corrupt stands as an
example of why it has long been difficult for some U.S. officials to
fully trust Mexican counterparts.

It comes as Mexico has increasingly sought to gain the trust of the
U.S. in combined efforts to take on the cartels, including an
initiative to give Mexico up to $1.4 billion for training and equipment.

The cartel that allegedly bribed Vasconcelos is described in the DEA
report.

"Arturo Beltran-Leyva had a major influence in the government of
Mexico with his ability to bribe high-level government officials
including former Deputy Attorney General Jose Luis Santiago
Vasconcelos ... ," it reads.

Despite Mexican government officials saying the plane crash that
killed Vasconcelos was caused by the wake of a large passenger jet,
many Mexicans still believe it was a cartel hit.

There had been attempts on his life before. Bribes, organized
crime

Among the people killed in the crash was Interior Secretary Juan
Camilo Mourino, who oversaw domestic security and was the highest-
ranking member of the presidential cabinet.

Vasconcelos is the highest-ranking official named in the document as
being corrupt.

The other two are former deputy attorney general Noe Ramirez and
former secretary for public security commander, (Victor) Gerardo
Garay. Ramirez is accused of taking $450,000 in bribes from
traffickers. Garay is also accused of involvement with organized crime.

Don DeGabrielle, a Houston-based attorney who was the region's top
federal prosecutor, said he knew Vasconcelos and that he attended a
meeting with U.S. and Mexican prosecutors in Mexico City last year.

"There -- just like here -- anybody that is ever accused of a crime
ought to at least have the opportunity to defend themselves against
those accusations," he said. "There is no way he could do that now."
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