Thread: Drug smuggler had passes to enter U.S.

July 25, 2007, 11:31PM
Drug smuggler had passes to enter U.S.
Critical of federal prosecutors' use of trafficker in the case involving Border Patrol agents, five in the House show copies of crossing cards


By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau


WASHINGTON — The Mexican drug smuggler involved in the controversial prosecution of two Border Patrol agents was granted six border crossing passes to enter the U.S. unescorted — including two after he was linked by federal law enforcement to a million-dollar marijuana payload.

Copies of the six crossing cards, which in some cases were good for months at a time, were released Wednesday by five House Republicans who have been harshly critical of federal prosecutors for using an admitted drug trafficker to prosecute Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean.

"The whole episode stinks, and now we are beginning to see evidence of just how rotten it really is," Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., said at a Capitol news conference Wednesday.

But U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton said Wednesday night that Osvaldo Aldrete Davila was not, in fact, permitted to travel unescorted into the U.S. after word surfaced that he may have been involved with a subsequent drug shipment.

"From there on out, he was escorted personally by federal agents to the U.S.," Sutton said.

"It's always frustrating when people are calling you names and spreading misinformation in a very public setting when there's an ongoing investigation," Sutton said. "Of course I'm being criticized because I haven't put Aldrete in prison yet. And of course, the reason he's not in prison is because the two agents, instead of doing their job, shot at him 15 times, hit him, lied about it, covered it up and filed a false report. But my team is still trying to make a case on him."


A cause célèbre
Ramos and Compean are serving 11- and 12-year prison sentences, respectively. They have become a cause célèbre for immigration enforcement hawks and others who believe the agents were doing their jobs when they shot and wounded Aldrete after he fled on foot following a high-speed chase near El Paso in February 2005. Aldrete's van was later found to contain 743 pounds of marijuana.

The House on Wednesday approved a move by conservative Republicans to try to set free the two former Border Patrol agents. After a long, emotional debate, the House voted by voice to block the Bureau of Prisons from keeping Ramos and Compean in federal prison.

Aldrete, given immunity from prosecution for running the drug load, was the star witness in prosecutors' case against the agents. He was given crossing documents so he could enter the U.S. to consult with prosecutors, Sutton said.

Under questioning by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week, Sutton said Aldrete's card was revoked after he was linked by the Drug Enforcement Administration to a subsequent 753-pound marijuana delivery discovered at a stash house in Clint eight months after the shooting — and four months before Ramos and Compean were placed on trial.

The documents obtained by Rohrabacher show a crossing permit was issued two days after the DEA filed a report saying Aldrete had been fingered by the stash house owner as the driver of the second marijuana load. A sixth crossing card for Aldrete was obtained in January 2006.

"The decision-making was unconscionable," said Rohrabacher.


Documents faxed
He had battled the government unsuccessfully for months to get copies of the crossing documents, with the Department of Homeland Security refusing to release them on grounds they could harm the drug smuggler's privacy. His staff obtained the documents this week after a Homeland Security official, apparently unaware of the government's stance, faxed them to Rohrabacher's office.

During his Senate appearance, Sutton said the government had yet to prove that Aldrete drove the October 2005 marijuana load into Texas.

Sutton is declining to appear before a House committee investigating the Ramos and Compean case on Tuesday, when the House Foreign Affairs Committee's oversight subcommittee will examine what role the Mexican government played in demanding the agents' prosecution.

"The U.S. Attorney's office did not have contact with the Mexican government regarding this case," the Justice Department said in a letter refusing to offer Sutton as a witness.


Call for resignation
The department's stance angers House conservatives who have championed the former agents' cause.

"Johnny Sutton needs to testify or resign," said Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Plano. "Johnny Sutton needs to declare under oath why he gave a Mexican drug smuggler a free pass to testify against border agents who were doing their jobs."

Sutton attributed the decision to higher-ups: "The Justice Department makes decisions about when U.S. attorneys go in front of Congress."

In a lawsuit, the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch is demanding disclosure of records it insists the State, Justice and Homeland Security departments have regarding Mexico's involvement in the case.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4999973.html

"Johnny Sutton needs to resign...as well as his staff

That comes as a shock indeed, and there must be people who questions the authorities concerned as to how on earth this was possible. I have just come to the US for a visit to my niece's place, and while browsing came across this news which shook me up.