Statement
of
Chris Swecker
Assistant Director, Criminal Investigative Division
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Before the
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee on Judiciary
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland
Security
and the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security
and Claims
November 17, 2005
Good afternoon Mr. Chairman, ranking members,
and members of the subcommittees. I appreciate
this opportunity to discuss the FBI's efforts
to combat recent violence along the South Texas
border with Mexico.
The
region between the Texas cities of Del Rio and
Brownsville has experienced high levels of drug-related
turmoil since 2003. The focal point of much of
this activity is Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, a border
city situated directly across the Rio Grande River
from Laredo, Texas.
Drug
traffickers have exacted an especially bloody
toll in Nuevo Laredo and neighboring Mexican towns.
Significant levels of violence and drug-related
criminal activity also plague Laredo. As you know,
this bloody drama revolves around the Gulf Cartel
drug-trafficking organization, which dominates
the region and commands smuggling operations along
this stretch of the American Southwest.
One
of their enforcement groups, known as Los Zetas,
bears primary responsibility for the violence.
They have been fighting a turf war on behalf of
the Gulf Cartel against rival drug trafficking
organizations. Because the Bureau focuses on large-scale
enterprise investigations that target the command
and control structures of criminal groups, we
are well suited to help dismantle these trafficking
organizations.
Kidnappings
One
of the most significant ramifications of the unrest
along the border has been a string of kidnappings
involving U.S. citizens. Between May 2004 and
May 2005, there have been 35 reported abductions
of U.S. citizens in this region (much larger numbers
of Mexican citizens have been abducted along the
border. From January to mid-August 2005, 202 kidnappings
occurred in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, the
Gulf Cartel's operational center, which includes
the cities of Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Reynosa.)
Thirty-four of these abductions occurred in Nuevo
Laredo and involved U.S. citizens who had crossed
the border. Twenty-three victims were released
by their captors, nine victims remain missing,
and two are confirmed dead.
These
numbers likely represent only a fraction of the
actual occurrences, because many kidnappings of
U.S. citizens go unreported. There are two reasons
for the underreporting of abductions along the
border. First, victims and their families fear
reprisal from kidnappers. Second, since many victims
are alleged to be involved in drug trafficking,
they and their families are reluctant to cooperate
with law enforcement.
The
San Antonio Division has 26 pending kidnapping
cases. We have offered all available resources
to assist Mexican law enforcement and have followed
every domestic lead to locate the U.S. kidnapping
victims.
The
Laredo Resident Agency received complaints from
the families of U.S. citizens Janet Yvette Martinez
and Brenda Yadira Cisneros after they disappeared
on Sept. 17, 2004 in Nuevo Laredo. They remain
missing. Investigation revealed that alleged members
of Los Zetas kidnapped Martinez and Cisneros.
Mexican authorities have cooperated and we are
working with them to review evidence in this case.
The
FBI has interviewed all cooperative kidnapping
victims subsequent to their release. In cases
where the victim remains missing, we have tried
to obtain DNA samples to identify any human remains,
if recovered. In the one case where the kidnapping
occurred within the United States (Laredo), the
FBI helped rescue the victim before he was transported
to Mexico. This investigation is pending and the
assistant United States attorneys in Laredo and
Houston are pursuing charges.
Investigations
Targeting Cartel Activity
The
San Antonio Division has over 50 Organized Crime
Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigations.
These target Mexican drug trafficking organizations
and related activities, including money laundering
and gang violence. One of the investigations,
Operation Cazadores, led to the indictment of
Gulf Cartel leader Osiel Cardenas-Guillen. The
investigation continues to pursue fugitive Gulf
Cartel leaders indicted along with Cardenas-Guillen.
Other pending investigations in Laredo, Houston,
and Dallas focus on the leadership of organizations
affiliated with Cardenas-Guillen.
Gang
Activity
Mexican
drug cartels responsible for recent border violence
have also cemented ties to street and prison gangs
on the U.S. side. U.S. gangs retail drugs purchased
from Mexican traffickers and often work as cartel
surrogates or enforcers on U.S. soil. Intelligence
suggests Los Zetas have hired members of various
gangs at different times including the Mexican
Mafia, Texas Syndicate, MS-13, and Hermanos Pistoleros
Latinos to further their criminal endeavors.
The
FBI is well-equipped to deal with these groups.
The Bureau, in conjunction with our law enforcement
partners, has established a National Gang Intelligence
Center at FBI Headquarters. In addition, we have
established task forces throughout the country
to disrupt gang activity. The FBI's San Antonio
Division currently operates two Safe Street/Gang
task forces addressing border violence in San
Antonio and the Rio Grand Valley.
These
FBI-led task forces include FBI special agents,
other federal agents, and local law enforcement
officers: the San Antonio Safe Streets/Gang Task
Force is comprised of nine FBI special agents
and 13 task force officers; the Rio Grande Valley
Safe Streets/Gang Task Force is comprised of eight
FBI special agents and five task force officers.
Intelligence
Gathering
The
FBI continues to collect and share intelligence
with other federal, state, and local law enforcement
agencies. Through Safe Streets task forces, we
are collecting intelligence and exploring the
connections between Mexican cartels and gangs
along the border. We are participating in Operation
Blackjack, an interagency endeavor in conjunction
with Mexican authorities. Through this program
we have exchanged vital targeting intelligence
on Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel with our law
enforcement colleagues, including DEA, ATF, and
appropriate elements of DHS.
More
broadly, at the core of our intelligence-gathering
effort lies the FBI's McAllen Intelligence Center.
The MIC, as it is commonly known, is comprised
of representatives from various local, state,
and federal agencies in Texas. This is the central
repository for border violence-related intelligence.
The MIC collects and analyzes criminal intelligence
from state, local, and federal investigations
along the Texas/Mexico border.
The
center routinely shares intelligence with Mexican
officials and over 300 law enforcement agencies
in South Texas. This includes material regarding
corrupt Mexican officials, gang activity along
the border, and drug trafficking. The McAllen
Intelligence Center also maintains a comprehensive
database of Zetas, their associates, and members
of both the Gulf Cartel and its rivals.
We
have had several operational successes based on
intelligence we have gathered and passed on to
Mexican officials. Some of the information the
FBI provided to Mexican officials helped Mexican
federal and military authorities locate two Zeta
safe houses in Nuevo Laredo in June 2005, where
they rescued 44 kidnapping victims.
FBI
officials recently met with their Mexican counterparts
and discussed the location of several suspected
Zeta-owned ranches. Based on information furnished
by the FBI, Mexican authorities conducted surveillance
of the locations and provided us with the resulting
intelligence.
Eight
FBI special agents in our Resolution 6 program
cover five major cities in Mexico working in DEA
offices, which affords complete coordination with
DEA resources and investigations. These agents
develop intelligence regarding the activities
of Mexican criminal enterprises to support U.S.
investigations.
All
of this work is coordinated with representatives
from key DEA offices and Mexican officials. Recently
Mexican authorities used FBI Resolution 6 intelligence
to conduct several drug seizures, including seven
tons of marijuana attributed to Joaquin Guzman-Loera,
archrival of the Gulf Cartel. In September 2005,
FBI Headquarters deployed analytical resources
to Monterrey, Mexico, to provide case support.
The
FBI continues to aggressively pursue the major
organizations and violent criminals responsible
for lawlessness along the border. The FBI, along
with our colleagues at the Department of Homeland
Security and Department of State, is working with
the Mexican Attorney General's Office and the
U.S. Consulate in Monterrey to identify Los Zetas
members and their associates in order to revoke
their immigration documents. This measure will
make it more difficult for them to enter and operate
in the United States. We are also cooperating
with other U.S. law enforcement agencies in investigations
targeting Los Zetas, the Gulf Cartel, and their
enemies.
On
October 13, 2005, the U.S. attorney general announced
the creation of an ATF-led Violent Crime Impact
Team (VCIT) in Laredo. In combination with the
VCITs already established in Los Angeles, Tucson,
Albuquerque, and Houston, the Laredo VCIT will
address cross-border violence. The VCIT model
combines local police resources with ATF investigative
and technical expertise and the resources of ICE,
CBP, and other federal law enforcement partners
to reduce the violence that plagues our most crime-ridden
communities. We look forward to working with our
colleagues from ATF in combating gang violence
and other violent crime along the border with
Mexico.
The
FBI is taking pro-active measures to assess and
confront this heightened threat to public safety
on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border, including
participation in multiple bilateral multi-agency
meetings and working groups to hone strategies
to address the problem. Our intelligence gathering
activities provide windows into these organizations
and their operations while our investigative efforts
strive to disrupt and dismantle these criminal
organizations and reduce the violence in the region.
Paramilitary
groups such as the Zetas, Los Negros, Los Numeros,
and others who work for Mexican drug cartels as
enforcers are a serious threat to public safety
on both sides of the entire U.S./Mexico border.
They are well financed and well equipped. Their
willingness to shoot and kill law enforcement
officers on both sides of the border makes these
paramilitary groups among the most dangerous criminal
enterprises in North America.
Working
with our federal, state, and local partners, and
the government of Mexico, the FBI continues to
investigate these cartels and their paramilitary
enforcers, gathering evidence for prosecution
where U.S. jurisdiction exists.
Thank
you again for the opportunity to be here today.
I would be happy to answer any questions.
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