VOXXI: The significance of a US Marine’s release from a Mexican jail

"The significance of a US Marine’s release from a Mexican jail"
W. Alejandro Sanchez
VOXXI
November 4, 2014
Originally published: http://voxxi.com/2014/11/04/andrew-tahmooressi-release-negotiations/

 Andrew Tahmooressi, the retired Marine who was arrested in Mexico for allegedly trying to smuggle guns across the border, has been released and is now back home in Florida. While his imprisonment never placed U.S.-relations in jeopardy, the incident was nonetheless heavily politicized in the U.S., while Mexican citizens now question the level of influence that Washington has in their nation’s affairs.

Tahmooressi was arrested on March 31^st when he tried to enter Mexico via the Ysidro Port of Entry near San Diego. Upon inspecting his truck, Mexican authorities found three firearms, including an AR-15, as well as ammo. The Marine was subsequently arrested on accusations of attempted weapon smuggling into the country.

His family explained that he was actually driving to San Diego to treat his PTSD (he served two tours in Afghanistan). Meanwhile, Tahmooressi argued that he took a wrong turn when he was driving to San Diego and he did not mean to enter the southern country.

Ultimately, Tahmoressi served a total of 214 days in a Mexican prisonuntil a Mexican judge decided to release the veteran based on “humanitarian grounds” on Friday, October 31^st. The ruling made no mention of the smuggling charges. Upon his release, he was flown to Florida to be reunited with his family.

Partisan accusations for Tahmooressi’s release

The release of Tahmoressi was negotiated by the former Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a Democrat, and two Republican Representatives: Ed Royce (CA) and Matt Salmon (AZ), both of whom are serving members on the House Committee Foreign Affairs. But while this could be regarded as an example of the two parties cooperating towards the same goal, the case has been, unsurprisingly, politicized in Washington.

Naturally, Republican policymakers have critiqued President Obama’s role in this case. For example,Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) declared that the U.S. leader was “AWOL” during the negotiations to release Tahmoressi, and he “didn’t care about it enough to make a simple phone call.” Such statements are overrated, particularly as Secretary of State John Kerry did discuss Tahmoressi’s situation with Mexican officials on his visit to Mexico.

It’s worth noting that other Americans arrested in Latin American states have recently been freed thanks to negotiations with Washington policymakers. Representative Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA), for example, helped secure the release this past June of six U.S. citizens that had been detained in Honduras.

But while Washington has succeeded in freeing Tahmoressi from Mexico and the Aqua Quest workers from Honduras, the same has not happened in other instances when the U.S. has strained relations with a local government. Case in point is Alan Gross, a U.S. citizen that has been detained in Cuba since 2009.

A bad precedent for Mexico?

A final word must be said in regard to how the Mexican media and the population have reacted to this incident. While several American commentators hail Tahmoressi as a hero because of his military record and welcomed his return, Mexican news outlets were generally silent about the Marine’s release. For example a brief article by therenowned daily Milenio solely mentions that a judge in Baja California ordered Tahmoressi’s release following a request by the Public Ministry. The article does not mention the negotiations between Washington and Mexico City.

On the other hand, the newspaper El Sol de Tijuana was more critical of Tahmoressi’s release as it openly questioned to what extent the U.S. government pressured Mexico into releasing the U.S. citizen.

The article quotes Alejandro Lares Valladares, Tijuana’s Secretary for Public Security, who declares “as a police officer I am upset because I go out to the streets everyday [to fight crime for the good of] your family, for the good of Tijuana,” but there are now concerns about how Mexico’s judicial bureaucracy works.

Mexican users have also posted comments in forums declaring that the Mexican government favors the treatment of Americans in Mexican prisons instead of worrying about other Mexican citizens.

To what extend Washington pressured Mexico City to release Tahmoressi has yet to be fully determined. Governor Richardson may have tried to convince Mexican authorities that Tahmoressi’s actions were accidental, but that would just be the carrot-end of negotiations. The stick may have been Representative Rohrabacher’s alleged intention to draft legislation that would cut remittances that Mexican workers in the U.S. send to their families in Mexico. “Our government was unable to make demands and threats, that was not something that we could do, but the Mexican government needed to know the consequences of what was going on,” he said.

Washington may not have openly threatened the Mexican government, but the possibility of cutting remittances is a textbook example of a country exercising “soft power” over another.

Sergeant Tahmoressi, his family and supporters are undoubtedly pleased that he is back in Florida. Nevertheless, this case has brought to light both how easily international affairs can be politicized in the U.S. and, more importantly, the seemingly one-sided nature of Washington-Mexico City relations.

VOXXI: Nicaragua uses drug money to build new prisons

"Nicaragua uses Drug Money to build new Prisons"
W. Alejandro Sanchez
VOXXI
September 14, 2014
Originally published: http://voxxi.com/2014/09/14/nicaragua-builds-prisons-drug-money/

Nicaragua has constructed three new prisons utilizing money that was seized following the arrest of a group of drug traffickers in 2012, a welcome initiative that repurposes criminal money for public works in the Central American country.

It accomplishes two goals simultaneously: building much-need prisons and putting drug money to good use. Additionally, the reutilization of property seized from criminals in Latin American countries raises several questions about how these assets are distributed and who benefits.

The story of Nicaragua’s new prisons began in August 2012, when local authorities arrested 18 Mexican drug traffickers as part of Operation Televisa. The Mexican nationals posed as journalists and used vehicles displaying the logos of Televisa, a renowned Mexican TV network, to transport drugs from Costa Rica through Nicaragua to Mexico. They were convicted of money laundering and drug trafficking. The criminals were originally sentenced to 30 years in prison but the decision was appealed and their sentence reduced to 18 years.

In December 2013, Nicaragua extradited the aforementioned criminals to Mexico so they could serve their prison sentences there. The extradition of foreign citizens accused of major crimes is standard practice in Nicaragua. Alba Luz Ramos, president of Nicaragua’s Supreme Court of Justice, says that Nicaragua extradites major foreign criminals because, until now, the country had no maximum security prisons in which to hold them, and their imprisonment was too great an expense.

Seizing money from drug traffickers

As part of the Operation Televisa arrests, the Nicaraguan police also seized over nine million dollars from the drug traffickers. At the time, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega vowed that the funds would be dedicated to constructing new prisons.

Two years later, the new detention centers are now complete and the overall price tag tops $6 million: A maximum security prison costing $2.1 million, a women’ s detention center valued at $1.8 million, and a third prison in Bluefields, costing $ 2.1 million USD. An additional $974 thousand were used to construct another detention center for non-violent prisoners.

The rest of the money was used to modernize the equipment of the Nicaraguan police.

The prisons were inaugurated this past Monday, September 8.

Such initiatives are a welcomed development, since Nicaragua, like Latin America in general, is in dire need of new, modern prisons to counter inmate overpopulation. A recent report puts Nicaragua’s inmate population at 10, 958 prisoners (both men and women), more than double the maximum capacity of the country’s jails.

Seize and reuse

The various reuses of goods and money seized from Latin American criminal organizations is a multifaceted issue. Headlines usually revolve around the arrests of major criminals or terrorist leaders, such as the arrest of Sinaloa cartel head Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, earlier this year. Nevertheless, not much is reported about what happens with criminal assets.

Unsurprisingly, seized drugs are destroyed. In early September, the Peruvian police burned 8.29 tons of drugs, including 7.6 tons of cocaine seized in one bust in the northern city of Trujillo.

Similarly, this past August the Venezuelan police destroyed 446 weapons of various kinds. The metal was then melted and utilized for construction projects as part of the government’s Gran Mision Vivienda Venezuela program. Peruvian authorities also regularly destroy illegal weapons; the Andean nation’s Ministry of the Interior melted 3,567 weapons this past December 2013.

Seized cars, on the other hand, are sometimes remodeled for use by law enforcement agencies. More notably, the Colombian police is now using a Ferrari 348 GTS for surveillance; the vehicle was confiscated after the arrest of a drug dealer named Hernando “Rasguño” Gomez Bustamante.

As for money, the fact that the Nicaraguan government is using seized funds for public works, such as prisons, is an interesting development. On the other hand, there have been instances in which seized money ended up in dubious hands. For example, earlier this year there was a scandal in Paraguay over the fate of the money seized from Gerardo Sanchez, a local drug dealer and money launderer. According to the Paraguayan daily ABC, it was ruled at one point that only part of the money would be returned to Sanchez’s family, while a subsequent ruling ordered that all the money be returned. The amount in question is 54 thousand Paraguayan reales and $ 50 thousand USD.

Finally, it is worth noting that many of the goods seized from criminals find their way into private hands, as many vehicles previously belonging to criminals are auctioned. Some of these items have quite the history. Case in point: an April report by the Colombian daily El Tiempo explains how the motorcycle was used by a hit man to murder the late Minister of Justice Rodrigo Lara Bonillo in 1984 is scheduled to be auctioned.

Nicaragua’s decision to utilize drug money to construct prisons is a good and practical idea. The reuse of money, weapons, vehicles, and other seized goods is an issue that Latin American governments, including law enforcement agencies, need to think about. While some of these assets must be destroyed (i.e. drugs) others can be recycled for beneficial purposes.

VOXXI: The enigma behind the arrest of a Marine reservist in Mexico

"The Enigma behind the arrest of a Marine reservist in Mexico"
W. Alejandro Sanchez
VOXXI
May 8, 2014
Originally published: http://voxxi.com/2014/05/08/freedom-andrew-thomas-tahmooressi/

The fate of Andrew Tahmooressi, a Marine reservist who was arrested in Mexico for allegedly trying to smuggle guns into the country, continues to be an enigma. It’s unclear if he will be deported back to the U.S. or end up serving jail time in Mexico.

In recent days, both U.S. government officials and citizens have spoken out in favor of Tahmooressi without any results. While the situation is not expected to grow into a full-out diplomatic incident that could hinder Washington-Mexico City relations.

Andrew Tahmooressi’s arrest

On April 1^st, Tahmooressi crossed the U.S.-Mexico border via the Ysidro Port of Entry, near South San Diego. The Mexican border patrol checked his vehicle and found three firearms, including an AR-15. He was subsequently arrested.

“I wasn’t paying attention, thinking I had way farther to go. I ended up in Mexico with no way to turn around,” he told the daily Union Tribune San Diego in an interview from jail.

The situation worsened for the Marine reservist as he attempted to escape from La Mesa prison where he is being detained.

His escape attempt failed and, according to his family members, he has been handcuffed to his cot. (Mexican authorities say he tried to cut his own neck with a broken light bulb, hence they handcuffed him so he would not try to hurt himself again).

Tahmooressi’s family has declared that the Marine reservist suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and that he was driving to San Diego to enter treatment. Tahmooressi reportedly served in Afghanistan.

Growing Support At Home

At the time of this writing, it is unclear whether Tahmooressi will be freed in the near future or if charges will be brought against him. On May 28, there will be a hearing in which Mexican border officials will give a statement to the judge handling the U.S. citizen’s case.

While the three firearms in his possession are registered in the U.S., he does not have a license to carry them in Mexico. Moreover, the fact that he tried to escape from prison is not likely to help him get leniency from Mexico’s judicial or penitentiary system.

In an interview with NBC 7, San Diego-based immigration attorney Saman Nasseri explained that “Mexico has very strict laws about carrying firearms as well. We have to respect those laws going into that country… You’re basically asking the U.S. government to tell the Mexican government, ‘Please don’t press charges on this person even though he broke your laws.”

In the worst-case scenario, Tahmooressi could be sentenced to between six and 21 years in a Mexican prison.

Tahmooressi’s family claims that they fear that he may be tortured or even executed while in Mexico. When his mother visited him in his Mexican prison in April, Tahmooressi reportedly told her that he thought he would be killed.

This past Monday, May 5, Tahmooressi’s mother and supporters staged a protest in front of the Mexican consulate in Miami.

The U.S. government has taken an interest in Tahmooressi’s case. This past Friday, May 2, Representative Duncan Hunter sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry asking him for aid to “secure Andrew’s release.” It seems to be in the Mexican government’s best interest to make sure that the prison guards or inmates at La Mesa do not hurt Tahmooressi.

In a hypothetical worst case scenario, if Tahmooressi came to some harm, it would put a damper on the current momentum of Mexico-U.S. relations. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has boasted the visit of President Obama, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel in recent months.

Wrong place

It’s worth noting that Tahmooressi is not the sole example of a U.S. serviceman getting into trouble for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A similar case occurred in 2008 when Specialist. Richard R. Medina Torres was jailed for driving across the U.S.-Mexico border with weapons and ammo.

More recently, Kevin Scott Sutay, a retired U.S. Marine, was detained by the FARC, a Colombian guerrilla movement, in 2013. He was kept in captivity from June until October of that year, as the guerrillas believed that he was a U.S. spy. He claimed to be backpacking through Latin America after retiring from the service. When he was captured, Sutay was carrying his uniform in his backpack as well as a GPS.

At the very least, it can be hoped that Tahmooressi’s arrest will bring attention to traffic lanes and signs along the U.S.-Mexico border.

While it’s important for it to be properly monitored to combat smuggling of people, drugs, and weapons, the border is also used by responsible citizens that travel in both directions on a daily basis. Proper signage and controls could prevent more cases like Tahmooressi’s in the future.

VOXXI: Chile closes the “Golden Prison” of Penal Cordillera

Chile closes the "Golden Prison" of Penal Cordillera
W. Alejandro Sanchez
VOXXI
October 2, 2013
Originally published: http://www.voxxi.com/chile-closes-golden-prison/

The Chilean government will close a detention center called Penal Cordillera, known for being a “golden prison” for Pinochet-era military officers who were jailed for human rights abuses during the military regime.

This important development has occurred  less than a month after the 40^th anniversary of the military coup that brought General Augusto Pinochet to power (September 11, 1973).

The closure of the Penal Cordillera is a positive step in bringing more just punishments to individuals that committed human rights abuses during the Pinochet era. Hopefully this model will be followed by other Latin American nations that have their own “golden prisoners.”

Life in a “Golden Prison”

For years, human rights organizations have complained that Chilean military officers imprisoned for having committed abuses were receiving a golden treatment at Penal Cordillera (full name: Centro de Cumplimiento Penitenciario Cordillera).

The center only has ten inmates, which  include: Marcelo Moren Brito, a retired army Colonel and member of the DINA (Pinochet’s dreaded intelligence service), José Zara (accused of killing General Carlos Prats and his wife in 1974) and Pedro Espinoza (a DINA agent accused of being part of a death squad that killed dissidents such as Orlando Letelier).

These high-level members of Pinochet’s military all hold senior rank, which include eight generals and two colonels.

It has been widely reported that the ten inmates enjoyed a lavish lifestyle during their stay in Penal Cordillera. Media reports reveal that the inmates had 35 guards that took care of the center’s security, as well as an assistant, three paramedics, two cuisine teachers, and a nutritionist to supervise their meals.

The one recent incident that appears to have been the boiling point for Chilean society was a proposed dinner in honor of General Miguel Krassnoff, another inmate of Penal Cordillera.

Namely, Chileans were outraged that prison inmates were planning to organize a dinner (a barbeque, to be specific), in honor of another inmate, particularly someone like Krassnoff, who was a member of DINA and is serving a 120-year prison sentence.

It has been reported that these inmates will be moved from the Penal Cordillera to a detention center called Punta Peuco, which also harbors Pinochet-era officers.

As journalist Jorge Molina Sanhueza explains, “At the Cordillera prison, there weren’t cells, there were cabins that held 1 or 2 people each. At the Peuco prison, each will have his own room in a cell. Peuco is actually a prison […] and it’s also further from Santiago rather than right inside it.”

After news became public of the government’s intention of closing down Penal Cordillera, a bizarre event happened: one of the inmates, General Odlanier Mena, committed suicide on September 28^th. Preliminary assumptions hint that Mena took his own life upon learning that the Penal Cordillera will close and its inmates will be transferred to another detention center.

The officer was the director of the National Information Center (the successor of the DINA) from 1977 to 1980 and was sentenced in 2008 to six years in jail for the murder of three socialist militants.

Contrary to orthodox prison protocol, Mena was allowed to leave the detention center on weekends, and he used this opportunity to kill himself in his own apartment in Los Condes district of Santiago this past weekend.

And Justice for All?

The decision to close Penal Cordillera and end the luxurious lifestyle that its inmates have been enjoying will give some popularity points to the outgoing Sebastian Piñera presidency (and which may help him win the presidency again in 2017).

But this development should also be placed in a more regional context, namely that other Latin American nations have their own “golden prisons” for high-profile individuals.

One prominent example is former Peruvian dictator Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000). The former head of state is the sole prisoner of a detention center on the outskirts of Lima, which also serves as the headquarters of the Peruvian police’s special forces (DIROES).

According to reports, which embarrassed the Peruvian government when they became known worldwide, Fujmori has three nurses who take care of his health, as well as a hospital-style bed and a telephone.

But perhaps the most shocking aspect of Fujimori’s prison lifestyle is that he owns a private 375 square meter garden, in which he grows roses and other plants. As means of comparison, the capacity of Peru’s overcrowded prisons is around 28,900 inmates, but they currently have about 64 thousand prisoners.

Even more shocking, in the past months, Fujimori and his supporters have been lobbying so that the government will allow the former head of state to leave his “golden prison” and fulfill the rest of his 25-year sentence under house arrest.

This initiative has sparked wide outrage among Peruvian policymakers and society in general, and so far it seems that (hopefully), the former dictator will remain behind his golden bars.

Read more: http://www.voxxi.com/chile-closes-golden-prison/#ixzz2gbLql86f

VOXXI: Act II in Mexico: Keeping former Zetas leader, Miguel Trevino, in prison

Act II in Mexico: Keeping former Zetas leader, Miguel Trevino, in prison
W. Alejandro Sanchez
VOXXI
July 24, 2013
Originally published: http://www.voxxi.com/keeping-zetas-miguel-trevino-in-prison/

 

On August 20, 2012, I wrote a commentary for VOXXI debating whether or not the U.S. or Mexico should eliminate Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, leader of the dreaded Sinaloa Cartel , if given the chance. In that piece, I argued that some high-profile criminals are too dangerous to be kept behind bars, particularly in countries with problematic prison systems.

Fast forward to July 15 of this year: the Mexican government announced the capture of Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, alias Z-40, leader of the Zetas Cartel, another one of Mexico’s major cartels.

Understandably, Latin Americanist scholars are busy discussing what the capture of the Z-40 means for this illegal organization, particularly whether it will remain united or break apart into smaller groups.

But not much attention has been given to the fate of Z-40 himself. Where will Trevino Morales be sent to prison? And will he actually remain imprisoned, without managing to escape or communicate with his cartel subordinates?

Unfortunately, in spite of some important initiatives, the recent history of Mexico’s penal system has a plethora of problems, including prison breakouts and the lavish lifestyle that prisoners enjoy.

Therefore, Trevino Morales’s imprisonment should serve as an impetus for policymakers to address Mexico’s failing prison system and to consider creating a legal means for dealing with especially high-profile prisoners.

The problem Mexican prisons

The Mexican penal system has been in a terminal state for several years. Ever since former President Felipe Calderón’s decision to deploy the Mexican military to actively and aggressively pursue Mexican cartels (circa 2007), the overpopulation of Mexican prisons has become even more evident. Sadly, examples of the troubling state of these prisons are abundant.

First, it is important to recognize that Mexican prisoners have been alarmingly successful at escaping from their detention centers. In September 2012, a major breakout occurred when as many as 131 prisoners escaped from the Piedras Negras detention center in the state of Coahuila, situated close to the U.S. border.

The inmates, men and women, managed to dig a tunnel that was 30 meters wide and three meters deep to regain their freedom. Not long after, in December 2012, inmates in the city of Gomez Palacio, in the state of Durango, tried to orchestrate a massive escape. At least 11 inmates and six guards were killed in the attempt before the Mexican army reached the center and restored order.

Given the numerous (successful) escape attempts, it is no surprise that the Mexican Commission of Human Rights has stated that inmates control up to 60 percent of Mexican prisons.

However, this data does not provide a complete image of the luxurious conditions in which some inmates live, especially former high-level members of criminal syndicates. For example, inmates in a prison in Acapulco are able to organize cockfights and easily smuggle prostitutes into the prison’s wings.

Meanwhile, one prisoner in a state prison in Sonora reportedly occupied a comfortable cell that included an air conditioner, a television (with cable), and a microwave.

The future

In spite of the aforementioned examples, it would be unfair to argue that neither former President Calderon nor current President Enrique Peña Nieto (EPN) have taken initiatives (namely building more prisons) with regards to improve Mexico’s penal system. The problem is that neither president has done enough.

For example, in 2012, Calderon’s last year in office and the beginning of EPN’s six-year presidency, Mexico’s government constructed several new prison facilities. One facility was a detention center inaugurated in early 2012 in Rincon, in the western state of Nayarit. Later, in October of the same year, a new prison, called Centro Federal de Readaptacion Social Numero 11, opened up in Hermosillo, in the state of Sonora.

The prison is known for having state-of-the-art technology, including scanners, X-ray machines and over 1,000 security cameras. During a tour of the facilities, then-President Calderon memorably declared that “this may be the biggest prison in the world, we may look into it going into the Guinness book of records.”

Trevino Morales behind bars

In my August 2012 article, I discussed whether it would be better for Mexican (or U.S.) security forces to eliminate Chapo rather than attempt to capture and imprison him. Leaving the morality of killing a human being aside, such high-profile arrests beg the question of whether the Mexican penal system can manage to keep these individuals safely incarcerated escaping or being able to communicate with their cartel henchmen.

The current state of Mexico’s prisons, provides a grim picture of whether the recently captured Trevino Morales will be able to remain behind bars.

This is not to say that Mexican security authorities have not been able to successfully imprison high-profile individuals in the past. Mario Aburto Martinez, who murdered a PRI presidential candidate in 1994, has spent his jail sentence behind bars in maximum security prisons in Juarez and Jalisco.

In addition, the famous cartel hitman, Edgar Valdez Villareal (alias La Barbie), has been imprisoned since 2010. However, while some major criminals are still behind bars, others have managed to escape. For instance, Sinaloa’s Chapo Guzman himself escaped from the Puente Grande prison in 2001.

Hopefully, Trevino Morales will not only remain behind bars, but also stay incommunicado from the outside world. While his capture is a major victory for the EPN presidency, a potential escape of the Zetas would likewise prove to be a major embarrassment. Finding and capturing the Trevino Morales was challenging enough for Mexican authorities, but making sure that he remains in prison may prove just as difficult.

Read more: http://www.voxxi.com/keeping-zetas-miguel-trevino-in-prison/#ixzz2a4A01CPe