Pubdate: Tue, 22 Feb 2011
Source: El Paso Times (TX)
Copyright: 2011 El Paso Times
Contact: http://www.elpasotimes.com/townhall/ci_14227323
Website: http://www.elpasotimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/829
Author: Diana Washington Valdez, El Paso Times

EX-CALDERON GUARD LEAKED SECRETS TO DRUG CARTELS

A Mexican officer assigned to guard President Felipe Calderon was
accused of leaking information to drug cartels in exchange for bribes,
training hit men through a private security firm, and supplying
military weapons to groups like the Zetas, according to a U.S.
diplomatic cable.

The document also said another official who worked for Calderon leaked
a copy of the president's medical file to one of the cartels.

Concerning the accused military officer, "the cartels were using the
information to avoid heightened security around the president, not to
target him personally," said the document disclosed by online
whistleblower WikiLeaks.

"The arrest represents the most serious security breach to date but is
not surprising given high-level civilian Government of Mexico
corruption charges over the past six months."

The document classified secret identified the suspected officer as
Mexican army Maj. Arturo Gonzalez Rodriguez.

"Mid-level Mexican Army Major Arturo Gonzalez Rodriguez was arrested
the week of December 21, 2008, for allegedly assisting Mexican drug
trafficking organizations for ($100,000 U.S. dollars) a month.

"Based on statements from a former cartel member turned witness
code-named 'Jennifer,' PGR (federal attorney general's office) has
accused Gonzalez of passing information related to the activities and
travel plans of Mexican President Felipe Calderon to the Arturo
Beltran Levya organization (ABLO).

"Gonzalez also stands accused of leaking military intelligence,
training ABLO hit men through a private security company and supplying
military weapons to various (drug trafficking organizations),
including los Zetas."

The Zetas are suspected of being involved in the Feb. 15 shooting
assault on two Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in central
Mexico, according to sources close to the investigation.

ICE Special Agent Victor Avila of El Paso was wounded, while ICE
Special Agent Jaime Zapata of Brownsville died at the scene. They were
assigned to liaison duties in Mexico.

Mexican and U.S. officials said their investigation into the roadside
attack is ongoing.

Former ICE official Miguel Contreras said he was not surprised by the
infiltration of cartel assets in Mexico's military and law
enforcement.

"I was at a gathering in Mexico more than 20 years ago when the first
commander of the Mexican Federal Judicial Police pulled out a copy of
a DEA report that was about him and read it to us," Contreras said.
"He told us he knew the DEA agent who wrote the report, and he also
told us that 'whatever you do or write, we are going to know about
it.' The DEA report he had was a sensitive document that someone had
leaked to him."

The U.S. diplomatic cable dated Jan. 20, 2009, said that Mexican
officials tried to downplay "the seriousness of the breach" related to
the army officer's bribery case.

"The second unsettling aspect of the case is that Gonzalez apparently
had been on the cartel payroll since 2005, during which time he held
different positions in the government," the U.S. cable said. "As he
changed assignments, he was kept on as a cartel asset, and the nature
of his involvement with the cartels changed."

The cable that originated in the U.S. Embassy in Mexico said Calderon
had received death threats from the cartels.

Also, "One source advised that Calderon's medical file was passed to a
(drug cartel) by a corrupt member of Calderon's inner circle,"
according to the U.S. diplomatic cable.

Mexican military officials responded to corruption allegations with
counter-intelligence, and by rotating units from outlying troop
garrisons into joint operations with local army units, the document
said. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D