01 February 2005
Mexico Extradites Drug Suspect to Face Trial in United States
Case involves murder of U.S. law enforcement agent in 1994
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington –- The head of a criminal drug organization in Mexico who is accused of killing a U.S. law enforcement agent in 1994 has been extradited by Mexico to the United States, announced the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
In a January 29 statement, the DEA said Augustin Vasquez-Mendoza was extradited to the United States that day to stand trial in the U.S. state of Arizona for his role in the June 30, 1994, murder of DEA special agent Richard Fass.
The DEA said Fass was operating in an undercover capacity when he was shot numerous times by associates of Vasquez-Mendoza in Glendale, Arizona.
According to the DEA, Fass was shot in a “cold-blooded, premeditated plan” by Vasquez-Mendoza and his associates to rob the agent of $160,000 in cash that they believed was for the purchase of methamphetamine. At the time, Vasquez-Mendoza ran a criminal organization that owned and operated several clandestine methamphetamine laboratories in the Mexican state of Sonora. Following the killing of DEA’s Fass, three of the four suspects charged with the crime were arrested, but Vasquez-Mendoza managed to evade capture and fled to Mexico.
The three suspects who had been arrested were subsequently convicted and sentenced for their part in the murder of Fass. In 2000, Vasquez-Mendoza was arrested in the Mexican state of Puebla, and an extradition was requested for his return to the United States to face charges.
Vasquez-Mendoza was indicted in 1994 for first-degree murder, conspiracy/armed robbery, attempted murder, attempted armed robbery, kidnapping, and first-degree burglary.
After a “relentless manhunt,” the “mastermind behind Agent Fass’ murder is returned to the scene of the crime to face justice,” said DEA Administrator Karen Tandy, adding: “I would like to thank the government of Mexico, [and] in particular, Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha, for monitoring the progress of this investigation and moving forward with the extradition.”
Timothy Landrum, DEA special-agent-in-charge of the agency’s Phoenix, Arizona, field division, said Vasquez-Mendoza's extradition "serves notice that the worldwide efforts of the DEA will be brought to bear on all those who harm or kill DEA special agents and that these individuals will be brought to justice."
U.S. officials said that the manhunt for Vasquez-Mendoza had been one of the most intense in recent U.S.-Mexico law enforcement history, during which the Mexican suspect was eventually placed on the Top Ten "Most Wanted" list of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In 1998, the DEA, the FBI, and the U.S. Department of State announced a reward of up to $2.2 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Vasquez-Mendoza.
The extradition of Vasquez-Mendoza to the United States represents "a wonderful day for all law enforcement," said the DEA's Landrum. "We are grateful to our Mexican counterparts for their efforts in both the arrest and extradition of Vasquez-Mendoza."
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2005&m=February&x=20050201111045AEneerG0.8585626&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
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