DATE=12/3/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=MEXICO/FBI (S&L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-256821
BYLINE=GREG FLAKUS
DATELINE=CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The director of the US Federal Bureau of
Investigation, or FBI, on Friday went to the
dusty compound south of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
where six bodies have been exhumed in a joint
Mexico/US law enforcement operation. As VOA's
Greg Flakus reports from the scene, the top US
law enforcement officer said the investigation
might also continue on US soil.
TEXT: In a joint news conference with Mexican
Attorney General Jorge Madrazo and other
officials, FBI director Louis Freeh praised the
investigative work being done by both FBI
forensics experts and Mexican investigators.
In response to reporters' questions, Mr. Freeh
said he remains confident in the information
provided to his agents concerning the clandestine
burial grounds for victims of Mexican drug
cartels. Although reports earlier this week from
the FBI indicated that there were as many as 100
bodies buried in the clandestine graves, only six
have been retrieved so far. But Mr. Freeh said
the investigation has just begun.
/// Freeh act ///
We do not know how many victims may be
found or may be identified. We are
committed, however, to ensuring that every
victim is found and identified to the best
of our ability. //OPT// The Attorney
General stressed, in his prior statement,
that beyond the law enforcement work here,
there is the humanitarian work to identify
as many people as we possibly can so word
of that identification can be given to
their families and loved ones.
/// end act END OPT ///
Mr. Freeh said this operation is just one of
several in the past year or so in which FBI
agents have worked together with Mexican
counterparts both here in Mexico and in the
United States. He said this current
investigation could also lead to similar searches
on US soil but he offered no further details on
that.
/// REST OPT ///
For his part, Mexican Attorney General Jorge
Madrazo answered the concerns of some domestic
critics who claim that the presence of the FBI
agents in Mexico represents a violation of the
nation's sovereignty. Mr. Madrazo angrily
defended his decision to seek the help of the FBI
in this case.
/// Madrazo act (Spanish) ///
He said binational cooperation in the fight
against organized crime does not violate the
nation's sovereignty. What he said does affect
sovereignty is to leave criminal acts unpunished.
The Mexican Attorney General said international
cooperation offers the best way of fighting
powerful organized crime groups.
/// Madrazo act-up again briefly, then under and
out. ///
Mr. Madrazo said-in his words-" I am not selling
my country, on the contrary I am fighting
vigorously against narcotics trafficking and I
appreciate the FBI for providing this help.
Mr. Madrazo said the FBI has technology that
Mexico does not have for this type of
investigation and also counts of some of the best
forensic experts in the world. The other reason
for the FBI participation is that as many as 18
US citizens are among the nearly 200 people who
disappeared in the El Paso/Juarez area in recent
years.
While 65 FBI agents are working at the sites near
Juarez where the bodies are believed to have been
buried, there are 20 Mexican Federal agents
working in El Paso at the center established
there for further examination of evidence
obtained in the searches.
After the news conference Friday, reporters were
taken behind a stable and shown the pit, about
two meters deep, where the six bodies were
found. Investigators are planning to conduct
similar searches at three other locations near
Juarez.
FBI director Freeh says both his agency and
Mexican authorities have information from several
sources indicating that drug traffickers used
these places to torture, kill and then bury their
victims. (Signed)
NEB/PT
TEXT:
NEB/WTW/
03-Dec-1999 18:10 PM EDT (03-Dec-1999 2310 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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