Jim Kouri
Chief of Guatemalan anti-narcotics guilty of cocaine production, distribution
By Jim Kouri
Two senior Guatemalan anti-narcotics law enforcement officers pleaded guilty on Friday in the US District Court in Washington, DC to a charge of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine, according to a statement by Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher.
Adan Castillo Aguilar and Jorge Aguilar Garcia, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine that was to be exported into the United States.
The defendants were senior officials of the Servicio de Analisis e Informacion Anti-narcoticos (SAIA), the lead anti-narcotics police agency in Guatemala. Castillo Aguilar was the chief of that agency and Aguilar Garcia was his second in command.
"No one is above the law. When police officers accept money to help drug traffickers, they abuse their special trust and poison the society they are sworn to protect. We will pursue and prosecute these criminals to the full extent of the law, " Assistant AG Fisher stated.
"This case demonstrates international team work at its best, and I want to thank the Attorney General and the other Guatemalan officials who cooperated with this prosecution," said Fisher.
During late 2005, the defendants met with undercover informants working for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and accepted $25,000 as a down payment to protect a shipment of cocaine through Guatemala for shipment to the United States.
Following their agreement to protect the shipment, the DEA invited the defendants to participate in an anti-narcotics training program in the United States. Upon their arrival to Virginia, and unaware they had been indicted by a federal grand jury, the defendants were arrested on Nov. 15, 2005.
Sentencing for Castillo Aguilar and Aguilar Garcia is scheduled for November 17, 2006, at which time they face up to 25 years in federal prison.
© Jim Kouri
Two senior Guatemalan anti-narcotics law enforcement officers pleaded guilty on Friday in the US District Court in Washington, DC to a charge of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine, according to a statement by Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher.
Adan Castillo Aguilar and Jorge Aguilar Garcia, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine that was to be exported into the United States.
The defendants were senior officials of the Servicio de Analisis e Informacion Anti-narcoticos (SAIA), the lead anti-narcotics police agency in Guatemala. Castillo Aguilar was the chief of that agency and Aguilar Garcia was his second in command.
"No one is above the law. When police officers accept money to help drug traffickers, they abuse their special trust and poison the society they are sworn to protect. We will pursue and prosecute these criminals to the full extent of the law, " Assistant AG Fisher stated.
"This case demonstrates international team work at its best, and I want to thank the Attorney General and the other Guatemalan officials who cooperated with this prosecution," said Fisher.
During late 2005, the defendants met with undercover informants working for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and accepted $25,000 as a down payment to protect a shipment of cocaine through Guatemala for shipment to the United States.
Following their agreement to protect the shipment, the DEA invited the defendants to participate in an anti-narcotics training program in the United States. Upon their arrival to Virginia, and unaware they had been indicted by a federal grand jury, the defendants were arrested on Nov. 15, 2005.
Sentencing for Castillo Aguilar and Aguilar Garcia is scheduled for November 17, 2006, at which time they face up to 25 years in federal prison.
© Jim Kouri
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