Our blogs about
America's Wars
War on Iraq
War on Drugs
War on Afghanistan
War on Columbia
War on Philippines
War on Venezuela

More
Matrix Masters
Blogs
World Events
US News
Science & Health
Earth News
Free Speech
News from Africa
News from Palestine
Bill of Rights Under Attack

Matrix Masters'
SUPPORTERS

Lorenzo's
Random Musings
. . . about Chaos,
Reason, and Hope

 

Corrupt DEA Agents in Colombia Help Narcos and Paramilitaries
(Bill Conroy, Special to The Narco News Bulletin, January 9, 2006)
The drug war is supposed to follow a very clear script: According to the official screenwriters, the U.S. justice system is pitted against corrupt players in foreign countries who are trying to flood American streets with illicit drugs. The narco-traffickers, crooked cops, and thieving politicians in the drug war are always over there, in Latin America, and elsewhere, and U.S. law enforcers and government officials are always the good guys battling these forces of evil. . . . But what happens when evidence surfaces that turns that script on its ear? What happens if proof emerges that it is the U.S. justice system that is corrupt? A document obtained recently by Narco News makes those questions more than hypothetical queries. In this document, Department of Justice attorney Thomas M. Kent claims that federal agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration’s office in Bogotá, Colombia, are the corrupt players in the war on drugs. (The DEA is part of the larger Justice Department.) . . . The information in that document is also corroborated by a number of other sources that spoke directly to Narco News, including former government officials who are familiar with the DEA’s Bogotá operations . . . Kent’s memorandum contains some of the most serious allegations ever raised against U.S. antinarcotics officers: that DEA agents on the front lines of the drug war in Colombia are on drug traffickers’ payrolls, complicit in the murders of informants who knew too much, and, most startlingly, directly involved in helping Colombia’s infamous rightwing paramilitary death squads to launder drug money. . . . The memo further claims that, rather than being simply a few "bad apples" who need to be reported to their superiors, these allegedly dirty agents are being protected by an ongoing cover-up orchestrated by "watchdog" agencies within the Justice Department. . . . These charges blow away the smoke concealing the pretense of the war on drugs. If they are true, there will be no brushing them aside at pre-scripted press conferences; everyone who becomes aware of these allegations will be forced to consider where we go from here in that so-called war.

= = = = FOLLOW UP TO THE ABOVE STORY = = = =
January 13, 2006
Please Distribute Widely

Dear Colleague,

The DEA is already feeling the heat from Bill Conroy’s explosive report published in Narco News this week. Conroy received a leaked internal memo written by attorney Thomas M. Kent, an attorney with the U.S. Justice Department. The memo accused Drug Enforcement Administration agents working in Colombia of massive corruption, of cooperating with drug traffickers, of murdering informants, and of helping that country’s dreaded rightwing paramilitaries to launder drug money.

Now, just four days later, the DEA is responding to questions from journalists with the following emailed statement, promising a full investigation into these "extremely serious" allegations:
=========================
- DEA PRESS STATEMENT

- The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) holds our workforce to the highest ethical standards and regards the ethical performance of duty as our first priority. DEA takes very seriously any allegations of misconduct, abuse of position, or criminal action. The allegations that are reported in the Narco News Bulletin are extremely serious. DEA's Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating the allegations that have been made. DEA will continue to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice and uphold the integrity and reputation of our outstanding workforce.
=========================
- Garrison K. Courtney
- DEA Public Affairs

The silence has been broken, and soon the DEA will have to explain why it failed to respond to these allegations for over a year and silenced those agents who did try to denounce the corruption.

But take this announcement with a grain of salt. The same DEA Office of Professional Responsibility that promises to investigate these charges is named in the Kent memo as a leader of the cover-up that stopped them from coming to light long ago.

. . . Read more!


posted by LoZo 3:55 PM