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Remarks by Ronald E. BrooksPast President California Narcotic Officers’ Association Before the
The Importance of Drug Kingpin Extradition May 13, 1999 Note: This is the Prepared Text and may not reflect the change in actual delivery. Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the importance of obtaining the cooperation of foreign governments in the timely and effective arrest and extradition of drug kingpins that are under indictment in the United States. I am appearing before you as the Past President of the California Narcotic Officers’ Association (CNOA) representing President Christy A. McCampbell and our 7,000 members from throughout California. I am also the Chair of the Drug Policy Committee for the National Narcotic Officers Associations Coalition (NNOAC), a group representing Chairman Tim Nelson, our 33 member state narcotic officers’ associations, and more than 50,000 police officers from across the nation. Although I am not an expert in extradition treaties or national security matters, I am a veteran narcotic agent with more than 24 years of service in California. The United States and all Americans are currently under attack from enemies based on foreign soil. We are faced with daily acts of terrorism that make the bombing of the Murrah building in Oklahoma City or the World Trade Center in New York pale by comparison. With the cost to Americans reaching more than $50 billion annually and thousands of lives lost each year, it is clear that the greatest threat to the security of this nation, is drug abuse and the crime, violence and social ills that accompany it. It is very appropriate that these hearings be held during the annual "Police Week Memorial" services. This is a sacred time for those of us in law enforcement. Since 1794, when U.S. Marshal Robert Forsyth became first law enforcement officer to die in the line of duty, 14,600 of my brother and sister police officers have given their lives while attempting to fulfill their legal and moral mandate of enforcing laws and protecting this nation,s citizens. During the past ten years, 1,624 officers have died. That is one officer killed every 54 hours. My own state, California, leads the nation in officer deaths. Since the formation of the California Narcotic Officers’ Association in 1965, 50 police officers have been killed while enforcing our state’s narcotic laws. Addiction and the problems associated with drug abuse have plagued this country since before the turn of the century. Because of an epidemic of drug abuse, vigorous drug enforcement and a strong anti-drug message were at the forefront of our government’s attention throughout the 1980’s. Some of our policy makers would have us believe that we should throw up our hands in defeat because we have lost the war on drugs. In fact, we have logged tremendous successes. Between 1979 and 1992, through a strategy of drug education and the strong enforcement of our nation’s drug laws, we reduced drug abuse in the country by fifty percent. That is a victory by any standard. But sadly, interest in the war on drugs has steadily diminished during the past several years. Many persons now call for the re-distribution of our law enforcement and educational resources. The fight against drug abuse no longer seems to be a priority for our government. Yet average Americans, when polled, continue to describe drug use, violent crime and gangs as their major concerns, and rightfully so. Every American deserves the opportunity to live and raise a family in communities that are safe and drug free. This foreign threat that we face is particularly evident in California and throughout the remainder of the Southwest border. America is especially vulnerable to the terrorism waged by international drug cartels operating along our very porous 2,000-mile border with Mexico. An explosion in the migrant work force, reduced scrutiny of commercial vehicles at points of entry as a result of NAFTA and the Line Release Program have resulted in a tidal wave of illicit drugs coming into the U.S. Twenty-three metric tons of cocaine is smuggled into the United States annually. Two-thirds of that Cocaine enters across the U.S.-Mexico border. And fourteen percent of this nation’s heroin is now produced in Mexico. The Drug Enforcement Administration currently estimates that 80% of the methamphetamine in the United States is either manufactured in Mexico or in the United States by Mexican National drug criminals, working under the command and control of drug lords operating from the relative safety of Mexico. In 1998, California law enforcement officers seized 1,578 methamphetamine labs. This earned California the dubious distinction of being referred to by Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Tom Constantine, as a source country for methamphetamine. Each of the major drug labs in California was attributed to Mexican crime families with command structures in Mexico. Even as we continue to make record drug seizures in the United States, our agents seize very little in the way of drug related assets. That is because these profits are smuggled out of the United States to avoid seizure and to add to the coffers of foreign-based cartels. In repeated cases that I have supervised, we arrest the laborers operating drug labs and the members of distribution groups transporting methamphetamine to the heartland of America without ever coming close to the kingpins. That is because they are operating from the safety of Mexico. What we do seize are wire transfer receipts and drug ledgers indicating that drug assets are being smuggled back to Mexico. We also seize photographs of opulent villas in Mexico that belong to the drug kingpins. Clear evidence of the millions of American dollars being sent to Mexico to support the lavish style of the drug lords. Law enforcement is unable to arrest the kingpins in these groups because they operate their manufacturing and poly-drug distribution networks beyond the current reaches of American law enforcement. The endemic corruption in Mexico and the volume of trade that occurs between Mexico and the U.S. make it imperative that we hold the Government of Mexico responsible to interdict drugs and to arrest and extradite major drug violators. I believe that president Zedillo and the leadership of the Government of Mexico is truly making an effort to fight drug-related corruption. Although there have been improvements in Mexico’s response to drug crimes within the past year, it has not been enough. Through corruption, intimidation and apathy, the Mexican drug Mafias have become so wealthy and powerful that they rival the influence of legitimate governments. Through extensive media attention and the glamorization of organized crime by Hollywood, most Americans are familiar with La Cosa Nostra. They can easily recite the names of crime families, such as the Bonannos, Colombos and Gottis. What many Americans do not realize, is that drug Mafias operating in Colombia and Mexico pose a much greater threat to their security than any crime group based in this country. The Mafia in America, pales by comparison to the wealth, violence and corruption of Mexico’s major crime families. And, although average American citizens may not be able to recite their names, the kingpins of Mexico and Colombia’s major drug Mafias, names such as the Arellano-Felix brothers, the Caro-Quintero organization and the Amezcua-Contreras brothers are well known to every law enforcement agency in America. For Californians and others livings on the Southwest Border, the influence of Mexico’s crime families does not stop at the border. Members of the cartels cross into the United States to transport drugs, steal cars, procure firearms and kill their enemies. The Arrellano-Felix Organization has hired members of San Diego street gangs to carry out assassinations North of the border. Several murders in San Diego County have been directly linked to the Arellano-Felix cartel. It should be clear that the Government of Mexico has not made an honest effort to eliminate the powerful drug Mafias. The United States and Mexico have had a mutual extradition treaty since 1980, yet the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports that the major cartels in Mexico, the Arellano-Felix, Carrillo-Fuentes and Caro-Quintero organizations continue to expand their powers and operate with virtual impunity. DEA Administrator Tom Constantine said, in recent Senate hearings, that over the past five years "the power of the Mexican criminal organizations has grown virtually geometrically". The arrest of INCD Commissioner General Gutirez-Rebollo and the corruption discovered within the elite, "vetted narcotic units" clearly demonstrates the extent of corruption in Mexico. The Government of Mexico has long described itself as an ally of the United States in the fight against illegal drugs and narco-terrorism. If Mexico is our ally, a true proof of their counter-narcotics cooperation would start with the actual extradition of major Mexican drug traffickers to the United States. This would be the single, most important accomplishment that Mexico could make. The return of Mexican drug kingpins and other major narcotic traffickers to the United States to stand before the bar of justice is the single, most effective way to destroy these drug Mafioso and reduce the level of corruption in Mexico. It is time that we bring these merchants of death to the United States where they can face U.S. judges with the Stars and Stripes displayed prominently in the courtroom. These thugs would soon realize that they are in the greatest country in the world. A country, where they cannot use corruption, power and influence to escape justice. The lack of cooperation by the Government of Mexico, in arresting these individuals, and the refusal to extradite arrested kingpins to the United States, has made the drug lords immune from justice. As evidence of this immunity, persons such as members of the infamous Arellano-Felix Organization, who control the Tijuana distribution system and Rafael Caro-Quintero, who is in prison in Mexico on charges related to the murder of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena, are still managing their drug trafficking organizations. Meanwhile, Rafael’s brother, Miguel Caro-Quintero, who has been indicted repeatedly in the United States, recently called a radio station in Mexico City to accuse DEA Administrator Tom Constantine of slandering his reputation by describing him as a drug kingpin. To demonstrate his innocence, Caro-Quintero said that he had routinely driven through police and military roadblocks and was never challenged. The only way that our government will be successful in dismantling these powerful drug cartels and halting the flow of drugs to our citizens, is through the arrest and incarceration of the leaders of these powerful cartels. Law enforcement officers working within the United States have effectively attacked these drug trafficking organizations and gathered sufficient evidence to bring the foreign based leaders of these groups to justice in the United States. Virtually everyone in a leadership role in the cartels operating in Mexico or Columbia, has been indicted in the United States. The problem has been in obtaining cooperation from Mexico, Cuba, and several other countries to actively pursue and arrest these drug lords. The leaders of the drug cartels boast that they travel about Mexico without restrictions. It is apparent that they do not fear arrest. An even greater problem exists in getting these criminals extradited to the United States. We will never make a significant impact on the drug problem in America until we have the ability, through extradition, to bring the leaders of these crime groups to this country for prosecution. Although we appreciate the cooperation of the Government of Mexico in returning drug suspect Juan Garcia-Abbrego to the United States to face trial, it is important to remember that Garcia-Abbrego held dual citizenship in the United States and was expelled rather than extradited. In fact, the Mexican Government has never conducted a legal extradition to the United States of any drug kingpin. The only way that we are going to deliver a death blow to the drug trafficking organizations operating outside the borders of the United States, is to have the key leaders of those organizations arrested and then extradited to the United States. To do so would levy a major impact on those organizations, which would result in dramatic decreases in the amount of drugs reaching our nation’s youth It has been heartening to learn that last July, law enforcement officials in Mexico arrested Jesus and Luis Amezcua-Contreras based on indictments from the Southern District of California. These brothers operate a criminal organization that is responsible for the vast majority of the methamphetamine being sold on the streets of the United States. The Amezcua-Contreras brothers are not currently wanted on any charges in Mexico and it appears that they are being held for extradition. We must, however, withhold our praise for the Government of Mexico until such time as the Amezcua-Contreras brothers are sent to the United States to pay for their crimes. The pending extradition of these dangerous drug kingpins is a test case that the Government of Mexico can use to demonstrate its resolve to join with the United States in the elimination of Mexican based, drug trafficking organizations. But this extradition alone will not be enough. Mexico must make an honest effort to arrest and extradite the other infamous members of its drug cartels. Since the recent certification by President Clinton of Colombia, the government in Bogota has agreed to extradite four major drug kingpins. The extradition of Jaime Orlando Lara, Milton Perlaza, Jorge Eliecer Asprilla, and Orlando Garcia marks the first time the Government of Colombia has applied a 1997 constitutional change allowing them to hand over drug traffickers to foreign countries. We have seen dramatic reductions in crime in New York City and other places where we have applied strict, crime fighting techniques. We have witnessed similar results with the destruction of the Calli and Medellin Cartels by the brave members of the Colombian National Police (CNP). Under the expert leadership of General Rosso Jose Serrano, the Colombian National Police, fighting against overwhelming odds and at the loss of more than 4,000 officers, have broken the backs of these two, major cartels. It is hopeful that the actions taken by the government in Bogota, to extradite these four kingpins, will continue and that many of the U.S. indicted criminals will be delivered to the United States. The recent events in Columbia should serve as an example to Mexico, and other non-cooperating countries, of the type of action that must be taken to obtain serious results in the war on drugs. It is obvious that drastic steps must be taken to force the extradition of drug kingpins by non-cooperating governments. I would urge the House of Representatives to develop companion legislation to that proposed in United States Senate, which would allow narcotic traffickers to fall under the International Economic Powers Act. In 1995, President Clinton expanded the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to include specially designated narcotic traffickers. This expanded act applied to four drug traffickers affiliated with the Colombian Calli Cartel. The goal of this act was to completely isolate the targeted drug traffickers by making it illegal for persons that do business with the cartels to also do business in the United States. I would urge Congress to codify this act and expand it to address any narcotic trafficker that poses a threat to the security of this nation. I would also suggest that economic sanctions be considered for those countries that refuse to arrest and extradite drug kingpins. Those of us in law enforcement have accepted the risks that accompany our chosen profession. But we must not ask our law enforcement officers to risk their lives, unless we, as a government, are prepared to demand, in the most forceful terms, the cooperation of all nations, to actively pursue and arrest foreign based drug kingpins. We must then require cooperation in the extradition of these kingpins to the United States to stand trial. To do any less would be unfair to the citizens of this great nation. Extradition is one of the most effective weapons that we have in dealing with foreign nationals involved in drug trafficking in the United States. Organizations in many parts of the world including, Colombia, Mexico, Burma, Cambodia, Nigeria, and elsewhere, have used violent means to pursue their deadly trade. They are the common enemy of all civilized nations and we need to work together to meet this common threat. We must bring the power of this nation to bear upon all countries that refuse to come to our aid to stop the narco-terrorists that threaten not only the citizens of the United States, but people everywhere. Thank you Mr. Chairman for allowing me to appear before your Committee today.
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