Ex-Calderón guard leaked secrets to drug cartels
By Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times
Posted: 02/22/2011 12:00:00 AM MST

A Mexican officer assigned to guard President Felipe Calderón 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 Calderón 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
Analysis on news out of Mexico civilian Government of Mexico corruption charges over the past six months."

The document classified secret identified the suspected officer as Mexican army Maj. Arturo González RodrÃ*guez.

"Mid-level Mexican Army Major Arturo González RodrÃ*guez 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 González of passing information related to the activities and travel plans of Mexican President Felipe Calderón to the Arturo Beltran Levya organization (ABLO).

"González 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 González 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 Calderón had received death threats from the cartels.

Also, "One source advised that Calderón's medical file was passed to a (drug cartel) by a corrupt member of Calderón'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.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_17442613