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Notes From A Media Training Seminar By Michael Shellenberger
(List Subscriber Shares Tips On Getting Print, Broadcast Media
To Improve Coverage Of Drug Policy Issues)
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 13:14:38 -0500
To: mattalk@islandnet.com, maptalk@mapinc.org
From: Harry Bego (by way of Richard Lake )
Subject: PR: Notes from media training
Here are some very good PR notes from a recent seminar which was
sponsored by Common Sense for Drug Policy (member of the 'Coalition').
***
NOTES FROM A MEDIA TRAINING SEMINAR BY MICHAEL SHELLENBERGER
Dawn Day, Dogwood Center
February 1998
MAJOR POINTS
-Cultivate individual reporters, e.g. develop personal relationships;
return their phone calls promptly; help them find sources even if they
are not planning on quoting you.
-When giving an interview, keep on the message. We do not need to
respond to the questions that are asked. This is especially important at the
beginning of a half-hour television debate format because, if
successful, this lets you set the agenda for the show with your answer.
-We live in a media-saturated culture. Keep a story alive. Plan more
than one event so the story keeps going for as long as possible.
CULTIVATE INDIVIDUAL REPORTERS
-If the reporter knows us and is favorable toward us, he/she will be
more willing to listen to our pitch.
-If we know the reporter, we will know how to pitch the story.
-The pitch to the reporter must also be designed to help the reporter
sell the story to the editor.
-Give reporters tips on good stories, even ones that are unrelated to
our topic, if we can. This will help make the reporter happy to hear from
us.
-Thank reporters for good stories on our topics.
PROBLEM REPORTERS, INACCURATE STORIES
-Deal with difficult reporters by finding a way around them. It is
usually unproductive to complain to the reporter's boss.
-If we need to correct an old news story, rather than ask for a
correction, it is better to pitch a new story.
PITCHING A STORY
-Call a print reporter before 3 p.m. if possible. After that they may
have a deadline.
-When you call, first ask if the reporter has a minute to talk. If not,
ask when would be a good time to call.
-If the reporter says he/she is not interested, ask why. And ask who
else in their organization might be interested.
-Develop a thick skin and be willing to keep calling.
-Recognize that we are helping them do their job better, by giving them
information, story ideas and contacts. They will (usually) appreciate
our help.
PRESS RELEASES
-A press release is a written pitch. It is usually thrown away
-After sending the press release, it is important to call to see if it
was received and be ready to send another IMMEDIATELY.
-Think of a press release as a reason to call and talk to a reporter.
-Send to a specific reporter. We may have to send to an assignment
editor with radio or TV.
STAYING ON THE MESSAGE
-Ex: in the medical marijuana issue, stay on imprisoning patients; do
not discuss increasing drug use among children or getting regulatory
approval, even if questions come up on these topics.
-Ex: FAMM stays on the idea that long sentences are wrong. Tries not
to get tied down in the details of individual cases, such as what exactly
did Kimba Smith do.
WAYS TO GET INTO THE MEDIA
-Create a story. (Image the story and work backwards. FAMM has done
this with stories about prisons and families that have been hurt.)
-Anticipate and influence the debate
-React to the debate (1). If we get a call from a reporter, it is
likely that other reporters are interested in the story as well. It may well
be an opportunity for us to develop a press release or other media
opportunity.
-React to the debate (2). Be flexible. When the other side does
something stupid, be ready to take the time to capitalize on it.
-Get our theme into TV shows. Ex: try get needle exchange into the TV
show ER.
EVENTS, TYPES OF (these are opportunities to build relationships with
reporters, rally our supporters AND find new supporters)
-Press conferences.
-Forums, meetings, hearings. These are often difficult to make into
news, but can be useful as background/education for a reporter, if you can get
the reporter to attend. To make news out of a forum, tie it to a local news
story, e.g., a forum in Boston by a lawyer reform group highlighting
overcrowded court dockets in Boston.
-Press breakfast briefings (do not need a news hook for this, just
education for reporters)
-"Tours," site visits where we bring experts along with reporters to
view how something actually operates.
-Editorial board visits (offer a briefing; the board will want
research--have good citations, know the facts.)
-Law suits (ex: beef industry suit against Oprah warns others that if
criticize the beef industry you will be hurt.)
-Civil disobedience (ex: running needle exchange in some areas)
EVENTS, TIPS FOR
-Rehearse testimony/statements
-Draw a news story out for several days by using several different
events.
Ex: begin with a background breakfast for reporters. Another day do a
press conference. Meet with a key group a third day. Write an op-ed
for a paper a few days later.
-Consider different locations. NYC and DC are saturated with stories,
so perhaps another city would be better for some stories.
-Consider timing. July and August, when Congress is out of session, are
good times for reformers to get a message out from DC.
-Consider targeting local media. They may be easier to get into. Local
media are what local political leaders read, and those groups are an
appropriate part of our target audience.
EVENTS, PICKING AN APPROPRIATE MESSENGER
-Ex: on medical marijuana, use MDs and patients. In general, it is
good to use people affected by a policy.
-Ex: consider an unexpected messenger such as a police official who
favors ending the drug war.
-Ex: public relations groups now offer to create grass roots
organizations for clients; they even are able to generate calls to
legislators by
calling households and then using a switch to put the call through to
the legislator, if the household member expresses an interest in doing so.
EVENTS, STUDIES AS
-More effective if conclusions are "new;" have a connection to a
political movement, are part of an annual series, or are hooked somehow to a
current issue.
-Helpful if linked to "hot" symbols, such as violence, race, children,
etc.
-Helpful to have a political leader release a study, as Sen. Barbara
Boxer does on some environmental issues.
-Easier to sell if the focus of the study be simple and repetitive.
i.e. the Sentencing Project annual report on incarceration.
-Try to have state level data, so that even a national report can be
covered from a local angle.
-Helpful if done by senior researchers at prestigious institutions, thus
adding weight and credibility to the information. Also, in this case we
pitching someone else, which is usually easier than pitching ourselves.
MESSAGES, CONTENT OF
-What sells is sex, violence, kids, celebrities, furry animals,
conflict.
Ex: on the juvenile crime bill in Congress, fight by talking about
children being raped, beaten up and committing suicide. Then on background
add
other issues that we think are important, such as race and that prevention
works. But get the attention with the sensational.
- Remember that individual rights does not sell very well. We need to
be arguing that sensible drug policies will be saving our children.
-Speak in terms of values such as security of the family and justice.
Show injustice by putting a human face on it.
-The phrase we need to be "smart" about drugs not "tough" seems to work
well.
-Look for a woman's angle. The Nike sweat shop story was made appealing
to women's groups by pointing out how Nike uses women's empowerment issues
to sell shoes but exploits young girls as workers in its overseas
factories.
MESSAGES, PRESENTATION OF
-Keep message simple/singular. Ex: needle exchange programs save
lives.
-Put a human face on the story. FAMM does this. This approach can also
be used to get stories through reporters who are not generally sympathetic
to our viewpoint.
-Use good props. Ex: giant check to illustrate the $1000/month an AIDS
patient had to pay for medicine. Ex: Picture of widow/nurse next to
husband's grave talking about how medical marijuana relieved her
husband's pain at the end of his illness.
-It is important to have our facts right and well documented. What we
say is scrutinized more carefully than what the establishment says.
-We need to be willing to express anger and outrage. This rallies our
allies as well as causes a problem for the other side.
-We need to be oppositional. This helps get the media attention and
helps us to be heard.
-We need to pitch our stories as entertainment. (60 minutes is
entertainment as well as news.) So we need to have a cast of characters
and a story.
-Point to solutions.
TIPS FOR OP-EDS
-Timing is more important than quality
-Local slant
-Make personal, if possible
-Short paragraphs, only 1-3 sentences long.
TIPS FOR TELEVISION
-Dress in gray, blue, or brown. Avoid patterns or big jewelry.
-Talk in sound bites
-Avoid "uh" or "er." Use pauses.
-Do interview in natural light, if possible
-Get a copy on video or audio to evaluate self
REGIONAL VS NATIONAL
-Find ways to bump the story up to the national level. This occurs
sometimes after a story has had regional coverage for a while. This
relates to stretching a story out, so it is ongoing.
-The Kimba Smith was first a local issue. Then it appeared in EMERGE
Magazine. Now it is the centerpiece of a college education tour being
sponsored by FAMM and the NAACP with Congresswoman Maxine Waters
involvement. (Kimba Smith is an African American college student
sentenced to 24 years in prison for her peripheral role in a drug
conspiracy involving her former boyfriend.)
RACE
Race has played a central role in the creation and perpetuation of the
situation we are fighting. We need to be more effective in reaching
African American and Latino communities with our messages.
WHY ARE THE MEDIA UNRESPONSIVE
-Conglomerate ownership is more conservative.
-TV news is expected to show a big profit, so they don't have time to
research stories. NOTE: we can turn this to our advantage, if we figure
out how to create good stories for them.
-When all else fails, we can buy ads. A local TV ad for Good Morning
America (in a major market) costs $1200 for 30 seconds.
***
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US Wants Drug Treaty To Replace Certification ('Los Angeles Times'
Says Clinton Administration Is Tired Of Annual Debate With Congress,
And With Mexico And Other Nations Who See Current Process As Unilateral,
And Wants Pact Creating Hemispheric Alliance With Penalty Mechanism)
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 16:29:30 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: U.S. Wants Drug Treaty to Replace Certification
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Jim Rosenfield
Source: Los Angeles Times
Contact: letters@latimes.com
Fax: 213-237-4712
Pubdate: February 16, 1998
Author: Stanley Meisler, Times Staff Writer
U.S. WANTS DRUG TREATY TO REPLACE CERTIFICATION
Clinton administration, tired of annual debate, seeks pact creating
hemispheric alliance and penalty mechanism. Mexico, other nations oppose
current process as unilateral.
WASHINGTON--The Clinton administration, weary of the bruising annual debate
with Congress over whether to certify that Mexico and other nations are
cooperating in the war on illicit drugs, wants to drop that process
altogether and replace it with an international treaty.
A Western Hemisphere treaty on drugs has been discussed for several years.
For the first time, however, the administration has said it regards the
treaty as a substitute for certification--rather than an extra weapon in
the drug fight.
"I hope in five years the United States, as one of 31 or 30 countries, has
become part of a multinational attack," said Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, the
White House anti-narcotics czar. "As we do, that will bury the
certification process."
The proposed anti-drug treaty would create a Western Hemisphere alliance to
fight the production and transportation of drugs and set up a secretariat
to make sure that alliance members complied with its provisions. The treaty
will have a prominent place on the agenda when President Clinton and other
Western Hemisphere leaders meet at the Summit of the Americas in Santiago,
Chile, in April.
The certification system was slipped into the Reagan administration's
omnibus anti-drug law in 1986 by members of Congress who believed that a
weapon was needed to pressure other countries into preventing the
production or transshipment of drugs on their territory. The measure was
barely noticed in news reports at the time but has since become one of the
most controversial aspects of American drug policy.
The prospects for dropping certification are uncertain. There is still
strong support for it within Congress, which has the power under the law of
reversing the president's certification ruling within 30 days.
It will take time for the United States and the other Western Hemisphere
countries to work out a tough treaty that might persuade Congress that
there was an effective substitute for the process. But the willingness of
McCaffrey--who is highly respected by Congress--to talk for the first time
about burying certification means that the administration is convinced that
an alternative to the combative system must be found.
Any change in the certification system would come too late to head off this
month's certification report card and a probable repetition of last year's
battle over Mexico. Under the law, the State Department must certify by
March 1 every year whether countries that produce or transport drugs are
cooperating fully with the United States to halt the trade. Countries that
fail to win the department's approval are subject to a cut in U.S. foreign
aid and other sanctions.
The department certified Mexico last year, as it had in the past. Refusal
to do so would have created a foreign policy mess, humiliating Mexico,
damaging its cooperation in the anti-drug effort and poisoning U.S.-Mexican
relations on many issues.
Even so, many members of Congress berated the administration for the
decision. As evidence that Mexico had failed as a cooperative partner in
the drug fight, they cited endemic corruption and the shocking allegation
that Mexico's federal anti-narcotics czar had actually been on the payroll
of a drug cartel.
Some State Department officials and members of Congress insist that
certification has worked well, in the sense that it has pressured some
countries to become more aggressive in their anti-drug campaigns.
But it has generated resentful anger every year as foreign countries
bristle at the prospect of the United States sitting in judgment of them
and issuing a public report card. Moreover, it has created tension between
the White House and members of Congress who feel the administration
certifies some countries for fear of offending them. The administration and
some influential members of Congress feel that these tense side effects far
outweigh the good that comes out of the process.
Mexican officials have consistently opposed the process as unilateral and
inappropriate. Among those in favor of scrapping the certification process
is Sen. Paul Coverdell (R-Ga.), who describes the nation's strategy in the
international battle against drugs as flawed.
"Instead, the United States should adopt a multilateral approach," he wrote
in the current issue of the Harvard International Review. Coverdell, a
former Peace Corps director, is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and, according to his staff, has
been in close contact with McCaffrey about the proposed international
treaty. Coverdell has scheduled a subcommittee hearing just before the end
of this month to review the certification process and discuss alternatives.
The administration is expected to release this year's decisions on
certification shortly before then.
But it will not be easy to persuade Congress to drop certification in favor
of an international treaty. Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla.), for example,
insists that there is no reason to abandon the present system even if an
international anti-narcotics treaty is signed.
"I'm willing to work on an international level," he told a conference of
diplomats, journalists and drug specialists recently. "But don't mess with
our [certification] law. It's going to get tougher."
Because of this kind of opposition, Indiana Rep. Lee H. Hamilton, the
ranking Democrat on the House International Relations Committee, believes
that ratification of an international treaty will not be enough to
sidetrack the certification process. Hamilton, who recently called the
process "nuts" for discouraging cooperation instead of enhancing it,
insists that Congress must overhaul the system substantially. Hamilton and
some Democratic allies would like to change the law so that the president
would no longer have to issue an annual public assessment of each country
but would still have the authority to impose sanctions on any nation deemed
uncooperative.
Advocates of a Western Hemisphere anti-narcotics treaty believe it could
replace the certification process because all members of the alliance would
pledge full cooperation in the war on drugs. To fulfill its mission,
however, the treaty would need a strong secretariat with authority to
punish countries violating its provisions. That may prove a bottleneck.
The administration proposed the treaty at the first Summit of the Americas
in Miami in 1994. The leaders agreed unanimously, but it has been difficult
since then to work out details of how to enforce a treaty. In a report to
Congress in September, the State Department acknowledged that persuading
other governments to agree on the proposed treaty's mechanisms remained "a
tough sell." But the administration still hoped to obtain "a comprehensive
commitment to implementation" at the Santiago summit in April.
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Bloody Battle Rages For Drug Lord's Empire ('Dallas Morning News'
Says Battle For Control Of Amado Carrillo Fuentes's Empire Has Claimed Lives
Of At Least 50 People In Ciudad Juarez)
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 1998 13:11:06 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: Mexico: Bloody Battle Rages For Drug Lord's Empire
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Bartman
Source: Dallas Morning News
Contact: letterstoeditor@dallasnews.com
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com
Pubdate: Mon, 16 Feb 1998
Author: Alfredo Corchado-Dallas Morning News
BLOODY BATTLE RAGES FOR DRUG LORD'S EMPIRE
Carrillo's death has left Juarez, Mexico, residents in grip of fear,
violence
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - Few lament the death of purported drug lord Amado
Carrillo Fuentes as much as some residents of this bullet-riddled town.
"Juarez is a mess," grumbled Jorge Olvera, a bartender of a popular
downtown watering hole. "When Amado was alive at least there was a sense of
order to the madness."
Since the drug lord's purported freakish death following 8 1/2 hours of
plastic surgery and liposuction last July, the bodies have piled up as
blood spills in a nasty fight over control of a $10 billion annual drug
empire just across the U.S. border town of El Paso.
The battle for control of Mr. Carrillo's empire has claimed the lives of at
least 50 people in Juarez, some slain in spectacularly brutal fashion. Last
month, a former federal police commander with alleged ties to narcotics
traffickers sat inside a Jeep parked outside a hotel on a Sunday afternoon
when a man with an AK-47 assault rifle opened fire, State Judicial Police
investigators said.
At least 51 slugs struck the commander, Hector Mario Varela Mendoza, more
than 10 tearing through his skull, police forensics expert Dr. Enrique
Silva Perez said.
Still other victims vanish - more than 150, about 17 of them U.S. citizens
from El Paso, according to human-rights groups.
The fear instilled in residents is so great that Juarez Mayor Enrique
Flores Almeida recently took out three-quarter-page advertisement in Mexico
City newspapers, pleading with President Ernesto Zedillo for help.
"Ciudad Juarez has become a battleground for rival drug traffickers who
fight for control of the city," he wrote. "My government looks on with
indignation and impotency while the police assigned in charge of fighting
drug trafficking have proved inefficient with pathetic results and sorry
consequences for the city."
One of the most troublesome revelations for both sides of the border since
Mr. Carrillo's death has been the depths to which society participates
directly and indirectly in the drug trade.
Some in law enforcement say that as many as 100,000 people in Juarez alone
are in some way involved, a figure U.S. officials say is difficult to
confirm or deny.
Many say that beyond the drug lords and their most trusted aides, there are
tens of thousands of "mules" recruited from impoverished colonias to cross
small amounts of drugs across the border. On the U.S. side there are dozens
of homes that serve as stash areas for drugs.
One man nicknamed El Lonjas said he has been on the payroll of drug lords
for years. He often sneaks in 10 to 20 pounds of marijuana, or cocaine
across in his old clunker. He earns an "easy $500 to $1,000," per load, he
boasted, depositing up to $30,000 in an El Paso bank per month.
Following the death of Mr. Carrillo, El Lonjas said the upheaval has dented
his livelihood. He has three children to feed, plus a wife who works at a
manufacturing plant.
"Much has changed," he said from a bar in downtown Juarez. "Nowadays, I
don't know who to trust, or what to expect. I can't wait to get back to our
regular routine."
Since 1848 when the U.S.-Mexico boundary lines between El Paso and Juarez
were drawn, the two cities have stood cheek to cheek, along a meandering
Rio Grande overlooking a transnational community that's grown to 1.9
million people.
When one city sneezes, the other catches cold, goes the saying here. The
killing spree has left many with more than just a bad cold. Many are simply
dead scared.
"I don't go to Juarez as often as I used to," said Annie Alaniz, a senior
student at Burges High School in El Paso who, like many of her fellow
students, flocks to the Mexican side in search of fun on weekends. "But
when I do go I feel like I'm dancing on pins and needles, always looking
over my shoulder."
Even before the fight for control of the drug empire, Juarez had spiraled
toward chaos. Law enforcement agents acknowledge that they hadlong
considered Mr. Carrillo a ruthless killer, responsible for the deaths of
more than a hundred people since he took over in 1990.
He also corrupted hundreds of police, the former drug czar, and even, some
say, elected officials in Mexico, pumping as much as $500 million during
his career just for bribes, according to one former top U.S. law
enforcement agent.
Yet as bad as he was, there was a sense of eerie order in Juarez while he
was alive, officials said. Mr. Carrillo valued loyalty and routine,
officials on both side of the border say. Killing was a last resort.
Explained George A. McNenney, the U.S. Customs Service special agent in
charge in El Paso: "Amado [Carrillo Fuentes] was an evil genius. He was
considered a diplomat within and outside the organization. Everybody won. .
. . He believed in a system of give and take, and he believed in
negotiations. 'What does it take for you to be loyal.' That seemed to be
his philosophy.
"There was no war," he added. "Drugs moved on time. Payments were made on
time. He was amazing, a tremendous organizer."
These days, Mr. McNenney said, the organization is going through some tough
changes - "like any USA corporation they're going through some downsizing"
- though the methods are obviously vastly different.
When news of Mr. Carrillo's death spread, many of his cronies felt that
"the boss is gone. We don't have to pay anymore. Well, now they're paying
with their lives," he said. "That's what I mean by downsizing."
Making matters worse, a bloody fight to fill the void left by Mr. Carrillo
rages among the drug lord's most trusted aides. Younger brother Vicente and
one of his senior lieutenants, Juan Jose "Blue" Esparragoza Moreno, battle
against Rafael Munoz Talavera, the former drug boss in Juarez who recently
completed a federal prison term, according to some Mexican state judicial
officials.
Mr. Talavera previously took out an ad in Mexico City denying any
involvement in the drug killings.
Recently, authorities said they are seeking four suspected triggermen they
believe responsible for many of the drug-related assassinations.
Despite roadblocks around the city, authorities reported no arrests.
U.S. officials also say the "black hand" of the Arrellano Felix brothers
drug cartel from Tijuana is also involved, a claim some Mexican officials
dispute.
In any case, the Juarez cartel remains as powerful as ever and the killings
in Juarez show no sign of ending anytime soon, U.S. and Mexican sources
say. Some U.S. officials predict the violence may linger on for another
year or so.
Juarez Police Chief Jose Luis Reygadas, a former accountant, oversees a
police force of 1,270 officers, plus a special unit of 450 special agents,
to protect a city of more than 1.2 million people.
Critics say many of his officers are undertrained, underpaid and corrupt.
Moreover, because drug trafficking is a federal offense, local police have
no jurisdiction over investigations, and even when they try to help, the
results can be disastrous.
Recently, a band of men in a black suburban opened fire on a Chevy blazer
driven by El Pasoan Francisco Alberto Alanis Talamantes in downtown Juarez.
Mr. Alanis lost control of the vehicle and was killed by bullets.
When senior police officer Jorge Frias Orosco and his partner, both armed
with .38-caliber pistols, stopped the men believed to be members of the hit
team, they were sprayed with bullets from an AK-47. Mr. Orosco was killed.
His partner survived.
"We're obviously at a disadvantage," Chief Reygadas said. "This is no way
to fight a war."
Eventually, Mr. McNenney predicts, some form of board of directors will
replace Mr. Carrillo, who also presided over the Mexican Federation, the
powerful group of drug traffickers that oversees an overall $30 billion a
year drug industry in Mexico.
"For now it will be difficult to maintain a sense of peace, or order," he
said. "The murders will continue to get out of hand because there are too
many interests involved."
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US Agent's Indictment Imperils Drug Case ('San Jose Mercury News'
Says Federal Agent In San Francisco Responsible For Assembling Complex Case
Against Thanong Siriprechapong, A Wealthy, High-Living Member
Of Thailand's Parliament Charged With Smuggling 49 Tons Of Cannabis Into US,
Has Been Indicted For Accepting $4,000 Kickback And Pair Of Nikes
From Informant In Same Investigation)
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 1998 09:50:41 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: U.S. Agent's Indictment Imperils Drug Case
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Marcus-Mermelstein Family
Source: San Jose Mercury News
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/
Pubdate: Mon, 16 Feb 1998
Author: Howard Mintz - Mercury News Staff Writer
Thanong is charged with smuggling 49 tons of marijuana into the United States.
U.S. AGENT'S INDICTMENT IMPERILS DRUG CASE
Kickback charge mars effort with Thailand; suspect may go free
Thanong Siriprechapong, a wealthy, high-living member of Thailand's
parliament nicknamed ``The Little Duck,'' was one of those targets who make
every U.S. law enforcement agency salivate.
Believed to have managed a far-flung international marijuana smuggling ring
operating throughout the Pacific Rim, Thanong has been identified by U.S.
officials since the late 1980s as an emblem of Thailand's unique blend of
corruption, drug trafficking and politics.
When Thailand overcame a bitter internal debate tinged with nationalism and
agreed to ship Thanong to San Francisco in January 1996, it was a coup for
U.S. drug fighters.
The Bangkok government had never before extradited one of its citizens here
to face U.S. criminal charges. Even Attorney General Janet Reno made a
special point of publicly praising Thailand for cooperating in the capture
of Thanong, a flamboyant peasant-turned-politician at the center of a Thai
corruption scandal.
But for U.S. officials, the euphoria of two years ago has evaporated.
In the end, $4,000 and a pair of Nikes may permit the Little Duck to slip
from the grasp of American justice -- ironically as a result of what could
turn out to be this country's own brand of corruption.
Because of kickback allegations against a federal agent and coverup
accusations against federal prosecutors, what once was hailed as a
promising, precedent-setting partnership with Thailand has deteriorated
into a bizarre, cautionary tale of the risks posed by reaching into
Southeast Asia to pursue criminals.
The Justice Department, which believed it had an airtight case against
Thanong, now finds itself mired in an embarrassing, self-inflicted
misadventure with potential consequences for future overseas law
enforcement operations. In the short term, the government's missteps could
allow Thanong, now in custody, to go free.
The reason?
The San Francisco federal agent responsible for assembling the complex case
against Thanong has recently been indicted on a charge of accepting a
$4,000 kickback from a key informant in the investigation. The informant,
court papers show, was paid more than $100,000 for his tips in the
investigation of Thanong, or ``Thai Tony,'' as federal investigators refer
to him.
At the same time, federal prosecutors are under attack by defense lawyers
and a judge for allegedly hiding the explosive bribery information for
nearly a year. That has prompted the judge to express concern that the
indictment of Thanong, as well as Thailand's historic decision to extradite
him, may be irreparably tainted by possible U.S. government misconduct.
To experts on international law enforcement issues, the case could hinder
future U.S. efforts to extradite foreign nationals from countries already
reluctant to cooperate, particularly in Southeast Asia's so-called Golden
Triangle, a drug-producing haven encompassing parts of Thailand, Laos and
Burma. And without such cooperation, law
enforcement officials would face additional hurdles in prosecuting cases
against elusive foreign drug traffickers.
``From a political point of view, the argument we make when we extradite
somebody is that they will get a fair trial in the U.S.,'' said Washington,
D.C., attorney Ralph Martin, a former official in the Justice and State
departments. ``If we extradite a guy and (another country) finds out about
corruption here, it is going to make future extraditions much harder.''
U.S. Attorney Michael Yamaguchi of San Francisco, whose office has suffered
a black eye from the affair, still hopes to salvage the case by arguing
Thanong should not be rewarded for errors unrelated to the drug smuggling
allegations.
Indictment attacked
But Thanong's lawyers have asked U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker to
dismiss the smuggling indictment. Among other things, defense attorneys say
Thailand never would have extradited Thanong if officials there had known
they were relying on information supplied by a federal agent now suspected
of corruption.
``A grand jury might indict a ham sandwich, but we don't know that the
government of Thailand would agree to extradite one,'' said Thanong defense
attorney Karen Snell, a member of a large defense team that includes San
Francisco lawyer Tony Serra, famous for his work in drug cases.
Walker is expected to decide by this spring whether to dismiss the charges
against Thanong.
The federal agent, Frank Gervacio, is expected to stand trial on the
bribery charge before that time. Gervacio, a 15-year, decorated veteran of
the U.S. Customs Service, was indicted in September after an investigation
by the Justice Department's public integrity unit.
Gervacio has pleaded not guilty. In court papers, he is depicted by his own
lawyer as a fallen, alcoholic agent who succumbed to the pressures of
undercover drug work to the point of once putting a gun to his own head.
John Jordan, Gervacio's attorney, did not return detailed phone messages
seeking comment.
But Gervacio's predicament could produce a result impossible to foresee two
years ago: The agent goes to jail while Thanong goes free.
Gervacio and other federal law enforcement officials had worked years to
build a case against Thanong. The investigation dates to the Reagan
administration, when the interdiction of Thai marijuana shipments to the
West Coast produced links to ``Thai Tony.''
>From 1987 to 1991, documents filed in San Francisco federal court show,
investigators assembled a case identifying Thanong as the financial backer
and organizer of a marijuana smuggling ring that touched down in Hong Kong,
Laos, Vietnam and such U.S. cities as San Francisco, Long Beach, San Diego
and Portland, Ore.
Reliance on informants
Relying in large part on informants, federal prosecutors in 1991 obtained a
secret indictment against Thanong charging him with exporting at least 49
tons of marijuana to the United States from 1973 to 1987.
For U.S. officials, the snag was bringing Thanong to San Francisco to stand
trial. An internal U.S. Customs report, written in late 1995, cited State
Department memos outlining the Thai government's ``adamant refusals to
consider'' extradition because it was viewed ``as an affront to the
sovereignty and national pride of Thailand.''
Federal agents first moved on Thanong in 1992 by seizing a Beverly Hills
mansion he owned, as well as a Mercedes-Benz. But the case did not become
public until 1994, when the sealed indictment was revealed to the Thai
press at a time when the Thai government was in a constitutional crisis.
Thanong was then a member of the opposition party, under attack for its
links to voter fraud and drug trafficking. When the United States moved to
extradite Thanong, political opponents seized on the issue. He became the
target of a probe in Parliament, according to court records and Thai press
accounts.
He resigned shortly after the drug case against him became public. From the
start, he depicted himself as a victim of political foes and a pawn in U.S.
efforts to use economic pressure to win Thai cooperation with its drug war.
``His visibility was important,'' said Herbert Phillips, a leading Thai
expert and retired University of California-Berkeley professor. ``The whole
business of Tony being extradited had to do with political machinations in
Thailand. Tony was viewed as somebody expendable.''
Court papers filed by Thanong's lawyers offer a view of him very different
from the international drug smuggler described by federal investigators.
Thanong, now 46, grew up in the poorest northern Thai provinces and amassed
a personal fortune estimated at $160 million.
Thanong maintains his riches came from a flourishing real estate business
that included one of Thailand's major hotel chains. But U.S. officials
insist the wealth is connected largely to the drug trade. In January 1996,
after losing appeals in the Thai courts, Thanong was placed on a Northwest
Airlines flight to San Francisco to face the federal indictment.
By last spring, Thanong appeared ready to concede defeat and enter a plea
deal with prosecutors. The deal: Plead guilty in exchange for a prison term
ranging from 13 to 20 years.
At the time, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Lyons, the lead prosecutor in the
case, issued a warning letter to Thanong's lawyers. ``Let me make myself
clear,'' he wrote. ``If this matter does go to trial, I intend to seek
mandatory life imprisonment of Thanong after conviction.''
The case looked headed for a satisfactory conclusion for the government.
But Lyons, when he wrote the warning letter, had been keeping a secret
throughout plea negotiations: the Gervacio investigation.
Gervacio had come forward to his bosses in the U.S. Customs Service in
September 1996 and disclosed that he accepted $4,000 from government
informant Michael Woods in 1992. Woods' tips had effectively launched the
Thanong investigation in 1987, according to court records.
Also, Woods put the $4,000 in cash on the seat of Gervacio's car just after
Gervacio had helped arrange a bounty of more than $100,000 for the
informant's work in the probe, court papers show.
Woods and Gervacio had become buddies, apparently crossing the normal
boundaries of an agent-informant relationship. They drank together,
Gervacio attended Woods' wedding, and Woods gave the agent a $100 pair of
running shoes, court documents state.
Gervacio, full of despair and worried the $4,000 he eventually spent on
clothes for his daughter would jeopardize the Thanong case, confessed to
former San Francisco Customs chief Rollin Klink.
``What I received from Mr. Woods was of an innocent nature and not a
bribe,'' Gervacio said in a letter to Klink filed in court. ``I have been
carrying this misjudgment and guilt with me for five years where I am now
at the point having to reach out for help. I am greatly ashamed and
embarrassed to have done something like this.''
Klink declined to comment.
Gervacio's lawyers now maintain the indictment amounts to a government
betrayal because he volunteered the information about the Woods payment out
of concern over its impact on the Thanong case.
Gervacio's downfall has indeed posed a serious threat. Gervacio was the
lead agent in the investigation, making his credibility crucial. He was the
only government witness to testify before the federal grand jury that
indicted Thanong. The Thai courts, court papers show, relied heavily on his
accounts of informant testimony in deciding to extradite Thanong.
Also, Lyons was told in September 1996 about Gervacio's admission but did
not disclose it to Judge Walker until June 1997. During that time, the
veteran prosecutor was not only negotiating the plea deal but also
defending Gervacio's credibility against defense claims the agent had
misrepresented facts in the extradition.
Prosecutor's past reprimands
Lyons has been reprimanded more than once in the past by federal judges for
misconduct. Thanong's lawyers say he hasn't learned his lesson, violating
evidence rules by not disclosing the Gervacio matter promptly. ``I think he
betrayed me and the other lawyers,'' fumed William Osterhoudt, one of
Thanong's attorneys.
Gervacio's admission may have remained secret, but Thanong had second
thoughts about his plea deal. After firing his original defense team in
June 1997, he decided to go to trial. At that point, Lyons came forward and
told all he knew about Gervacio to Judge Walker, who then made the
information public.
The case has fueled mounting criticism of U.S. Attorney Yamaguchi and his
office, which over the past year has encountered numerous problems with
local federal judges over prosecutorial missteps.
And prosecutors picked the wrong judge for foul-ups in the Thanong case.
Walker, an advocate of the legalization of drugs, has a record of punishing
the government for misconduct in drug cases. In fact, he once suppressed
evidence in a major cocaine case because he found Gervacio untruthful.
The judge has sent strong signals that he is troubled by the government's
conduct in the Thanong case. In one order, Walker openly questioned the
government's rationale for withholding information about Gervacio's
situation for so long.
``Only the most cynical assessment of our citizenry could lead to the
belief that a government agent's acceptance of kickbacks from a recipient
of government largess -- whose good fortune the agent arranged -- would be
of no interest to the public,'' Walker wrote last summer.
Defending his actions
Lyons declined to comment, but he has defended his actions in court papers
and in hearings. In particular, he insists he was not required to disclose
the material because he did not intend to use Gervacio as a witness at
trial.
Further, federal prosecutors maintain that Gervacio's problems are
immaterial to the facts of the indictment against Thanong, who allegedly
has been identified as a drug trafficker by more than a dozen government
informants.
``Thanong Siriprechapong was a major importer and smuggler of marijuana
into the United States for many years,'' the government said in a brief
filed last month. ``Nothing that has transpired during the difficult
process of calling him to justice for these offenses could warrant the
windfall for this guilty defendant of dropping the charges and setting him
free on the public.''
Even if Walker decides against dismissing the indictment -- a rare
punishment for government misconduct -- federal prosecutors face major
obstacles in a trial once a jury hears of the Gervacio payout and the
agent's relationship with Woods.
And Thanong has one of the best attorneys, Tony Serra, to handle a trial if
the indictment is not dismissed. ``We brim with optimism,'' Serra said.
``This case shows that (the government) comes to this situation with dirty
hands.''
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Uneasy Mix Of Marijuana, Sport ('Associated Press' Article
In 'Los Angeles Times' Quotes Various Olympic Officials, Athletic Figures,
Assessing Where Status Of Cannabis, Sports And Drug Testing Will End Up)
Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 16:19:09 -0800
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
From: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)
Subject: MN: The Uneasy Mix of Marijuana, Sport
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Jim Rosenfield
Source: Los Angeles Times
Contact: letters@latimes.com
Fax: 213-237-4712
Pubdate: February 16, 1998
Author: Ted Anthony, Associated Press Writer
THE UNEASY MIX OF MARIJUANA, SPORT
NAGANO, Japan--Ban the steroids. Eighty-six the growth hormones. Regulate
the Sudafed and watch the caffeine intake. But marijuana? At the Olympics,
no one's sure quite what to say, though they've spent a lot of words on
that uncertainty during the past few days. "The International Olympic
Committee must be very tough to ban these social drugs," says Juan Antonio
Samaranch, the IOC's president. "Fundamental values are at stake," says
Francois Carrard, the IOC's general secretary.
"There are a lot of mixed messages," says Carol Anne Letheren, head of
Canada's Olympic committee. She's right. At 17.8 nanograms of cannabis per
milliliter of urine, Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati certainly wasn't
high. He may not have even gotten high -at least not since last April. But
around the world, Rebagliati's name has become synonymous with marijuana,
and the odd episode that engulfed him last week created a debate new to the
Olympics: What effect does a recreational drug like marijuana have on an
Olympic athlete -and what should be done, legally and socially, to
discourage it?
"A lot of people use it -at certain times. It's as common as alcohol,"
says U.S. snowboarding bronze medalist Ross Powers of Bennington, Vt., who
says he doesn't. "But I don't think you really need to test for it."
Marijuana, of course, differs from the drugs that tend to surface at the
Olympics. It doesn't give an energetic edge. It doesn't make your muscles
artificially stronger. It does, however, have one effect those others
don't: It taps into the American -and, by extension, global -approach to
recreational drugs as an issue of ethics, morality and character.
That's why Rebagliati's positive marijuana test -though he insists he
inhaled it as second-hand smoke at a party last month in Canada -threw
people here off last week even after an appeals board gave Rebagliati his
gold medal back.
Behind the media questions and the official statements seemed to lurk a
wagging finger, a cold eye cast toward anyone who might have had the
temerity to even think about something other than athletics, let alone
engage in a vice.
"We still try to emulate that wonderful Greek ideal world of the Olympics,"
says Henriette Heiny, director of the International Institute of Sport and
Human Performance at the University of Oregon. "And when the real world
clashes with it, there's always a real uproar. But the Olympics aren't that
ideal anymore."
Neither are other sports, to be sure. Yet just how prevalent marijuana is
among athletes, both professional and amateur, is a question with a sketchy
answer; few statistics are available simply because testing is not
widespread.
The NBA, which saw 1986 Celtics draft choice Len Bias die of cocaine use
before he ever played a pro game, is talking about adding marijuana to its
list of banned substances -a move its players' union opposes but some
players don't. "I'm all for it," San Antonio's David Robinson said earlier
this month. "If something is illegal, then they shouldn't allow it, and the
league should say that we have no tolerance for it."
And in the NHL, which doesn't test, Players Association chief Bob Goodenow
went so far as to say that no league players competing in Nagano use
marijuana. "Case closed," he said. That doesn't mean it plays no role in
the pros and major colleges. Last month, the Washington Wizards' Chris
Webber was charged with possession of marijuana, among other things. And on
Sunday, UCLA center Jelani McCoy quit the team after being suspended, then
reinstated; news reports indicated he'd been sanctioned for using
marijuana. Are the Olympics any different?
"I don't know that most sports fans are going to be jarred by marijuana in
the Olympics any more than in the NBA or NFL. They realize the Olympics is
just as much of a business as a professional sport," says C. Peter Goplerud
III, the law dean at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and an expert in
sports law. "The purity of competition that might have existed at one time
is long gone." Samaranch, for his part, isn't hesitant to use the moral
bully pulpit.
"It is not doping," Samaranch said. "But I think it's an ethical point, a
point of principle, and we have a duty to fight against it. Many people can
say, `Well, marijuana is a very light drug.' But many people say marijuana
is a beginning to hard drugs." The IOC hopes to have a new marijuana policy
in place before the Sydney Games in 2000; it appointed a task force over
the weekend to study the issue. Such a policy wouldn't solve the
moral-ethical issue. But it would certainly help Olympic organizers offer a
united front on just what it is they really don't like.
Then, of course, there's the most basic point -something that was discussed
but discarded in The Big Rebagliati Debate. It's the idea that an athlete
truly committed to his or her sport simply wouldn't take the risk -either
of being caught or of turning gold-medal ability into disappointing
finishes.
"When you are involved in high-performance sports, you need to take care of
your body and your mind in the best possible way that you can," Heiny says.
"Marijuana is more of a kids' social partying thing nowadays. I don't think
it's anything that people who have serious goals and objectives are using."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Caribbean Connection - Puerto Rico A Major Gateway To The US
('Washington Post' Says Cocaine, Heroin Traffickers Have Shifted Tactics,
Making Island Territory Most Important Way Station Of Growing Smuggling Route
Through Caribbean, According To Usual Law Enforcement Officials,
Experts On Drug Trade)
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 15:56:32 -0500
To: DrugSense News Service
From: Richard Lake
Subject: MN: US: WP: The Caribbean Connection
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Kevin Zeese
Pubdate: Mon, 16 Feb 1998
Source: Washington Post
Section: Front Page, page A1
Authors: Douglas Farah and Serge F. Kovaleski, Washington Post Foreign Service
Contact: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
THE CARIBBEAN CONNECTION
Puerto Rico a Major Gateway to the U.S.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A shift in tactics by cocaine and heroin
traffickers has made this island territory the most important way station
of a burgeoning smuggling route through the Caribbean, according to law
enforcement officials and experts on the drug trade.
Colombian drug cartels, which produce virtually all of
the world's cocaine and an increasing amount of its heroin, have shipped
most of their U.S.-bound drugs through Mexico in recent years. While that
remains the dominant route, stepped-up interdiction efforts at the
U.S.-Mexico border - plus the ever-increasing demands of Mexican
traffickers - have led the Colombians to diversify by putting new emphasis
on the Caribbean.
The Colombian cartels have subcontracted their Caribbean smuggling to
Puerto Rico-based trafficking gangs whose leaders are from the Dominican
Republic, according to law enforcement officials. The Dominicans ship the
cocaine and heroin via islands throughout the archipelago, often using
small, fast boats that are almost certain to escape detection by law
enforcement agencies - and that can easily outrun any patrol craft that
happens to get lucky.
A given shipment of cocaine or heroin might hopscotch its way north through
several island nations, authorities say. But for the Dominican traffickers,
all roads eventually lead to Puerto Rico.
Since Puerto Rico is U.S. soil, there are no customs checks between the
island and the American mainland. The traffickers apparently consider
shipping the drugs onward to their destinations in Washington or New York
or Chicago a mere formality.
"Once the drugs are in Puerto Rico, they might as well be in Kansas," said
Felix Jimenez, special agent in charge of the Caribbean for the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration. "There are 72 flights a day from here to the
mainland, and San Juan is the busiest port in the Caribbean and the
fourth-busiest in the United States. You can put coke on a plane here and
have it in Los Angeles in less than 24 hours."
The United Nations Drug Control Program, in a report to a regional
conference held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in December,
estimated that 250 tons of cocaine destined for the U.S. market, or about
40 percent of the total, passes through the Caribbean. This is a
significant increase over estimates a year ago that about 30 percent of the
cocaine reaching the United States passed through the Caribbean.
In addition, law enforcement officials said, almost all the growing flow of
Colombian heroin now passes through Puerto Rico on its way to the lucrative
markets of the eastern seaboard of the United States.
The illicit flow of cocaine and heroin has brought with it a sharp increase
in crime and drug abuse, with National Guardsmen at times patrolling the
most drug-infested housing projects here and police sealing off whole
neighborhoods for drug sweeps. The drug trade, Gov. Pedro Rossello said in
a recent interview, "is the biggest threat that we have to the existence of
our society as we know it."
Rossello said drug trafficking "has wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico" and is
his administration's top priority. "It has poisoned our youth and injured
our capability for the future," he said. "All we want to do is raise the
resistance so that the traffic will be shifted elsewhere."
Rossello is not alone in his lament. Throughout the Caribbean, authorities
say drug trafficking has brought new social, political and economic
problems that threaten to overwhelm often fragile governments.
For example, in the Dominican Republic - the home of the major new
Caribbean traffickers - officials estimate that of a population of 8
million, at least half a million Dominicans used cocaine or marijuana last
year. Officials estimate that as much as $1 billion in illegal drug profits
was laundered through the nation's financial system last year. Of 10,000
drug cases in the past seven years, fewer than 100 have resulted in prison
sentences.
Pino Arlacchi, United Nations undersecretary general for drugs and crime,
said at the Santo Domingo conference that the Caribbean was being swept up
in a global trend in which "vast sums of illicitly acquired monies allow
drug criminals to gain political and economic power and corrupt democratic
institutions."
"The sad reality is that drug trafficking and abuse, as well as the
legitimation of the proceeds of criminal activity, are negatively affecting
the Caribbean in terms of health, corruption, internal security, violence,
economic development and the integrity of financial institutions," Arlacchi
said. "The corruption that exists in parts of the region helps drug
criminals to damage the Caribbean social fabric. We must avoid letting
traffickers deepen their roots. ... Poverty and the drug trade are related.
Fragile and distorted economies, poor governments and corruption are the
inevitable consequences of criminal activities.
Innovative Traffickers The drugs brought into Puerto Rico arrive largely in
low-riding "go-fast" boats, vessels that can outrun most law enforcement
boats. Using Global Positioning System devices that allow drug loads to be
located on the high seas with great ease and accuracy, several small boats
will often converge on a single large load dropped from the air or a larger
ship. If police presence is detected, the speedy boats split up and head in
different directions, virtually guaranteeing that the bulk of the shipment
will get through.
And the drug traffickers are constantly innovating. Last year they began to
use small, semi-submersible boats that could carry up to 440 pounds of
cocaine all the way from Colombia to Puerto Rico. While not operating
completely under water, the boats rode low enough to be almost covered by
the sea, making them virtually undetectable.
Traffickers also use isolated roads to land aircraft loaded with drugs. The
groups are so compartmentalized, according to knowledgeable sources, that
one group of people will be hired solely to lay out lights on the road to
show an airplane where to land. Another group will be contracted to unload
the flight, and a third to remove the lights.
"They can slip in and out virtually undetected," said one law enforcement
official. "With the technology they have, they can message each other,
coordinate a drop with great precision and move the merchandise before we
can even decode their messages. Unless we have specific intelligence, it is
virtually impossible to stop them."
In one of the largest raids ever carried out here, Puerto Rican police
arrested 1,039 people on Dec. 17 in a series of raids across the island.
The raids netted 1,356 3.5-ounce bags of cocaine; 133 small bags of heroin;
58 firearms; 60 vehicles and $205,582 in cash, according to Puerto Rican
law enforcement officials.
Using evidence gathered in the raids, the police said, they were able to
bring murder charges against 40 people, including Wess Solano Moretta,
alleged leader of one of San Juan's most powerful drug organizations.
"They [Colombian drug trafficking organizations] have persons in charge of
distribution, laundering, records and exporting," said Puerto Rico's
attorney general, Jose Fuentes Agostini. "The Colombians are operating like
a giant corporation with different levels of management and subsidiaries in
different countries. This is a business organization here, not gangs with
jackets and switch blades who are cutting each other up."
The drugs leave Puerto Rico in every imaginable way, according to law
enforcement officials. Smugglers favor cargo ship containers, but also use
commercial airline flights, cruise ships and express mail.
Between October 1996 and June 1997, a joint task force led by the Coast
Guard seized 24,000 pounds of illegal drugs on the high seas as the drug
traffickers were attempting to reach Puerto Rico, according to Adm. Robert
E. Kramek, commandant of the Coast Guard. The drugs had a street value of
$1 billion, he said.
On July 31, federal agents arrested more than a dozen people working for
Delta Air Lines. They were charged with organizing shipments of cocaine on
Delta during a three-year period. DEA officials said the alleged smuggling
ring introduced between 13,200 and 22,000 pounds of cocaine into the United
States during that time. The street value of the drugs was more than $1
billion, the DEA said. The suspects are awaiting trial.
And this fall, federal agents uncovered 7,513 pounds of cocaine in a single
container in a ship bound for the United States.
'Quiet Invasion' But while the transshipment of drugs through here is a
concern, officials and residents here say the greater devastation is caused
by the cocaine and heroin left behind as payment for the services of those
involved in the drug trade.
It is not hard to find evidence of the impact.
The windows of the guard houses at Las Margaritas housing project here in
San Juan are pocked with bullet holes. Those wishing to enter the complex,
with its bare courtyards and its graffiti-covered walls, must have their
identification checked by riot-equipped National Guardsmen brandishing M-16
rifles. Despite this military presence, residents say, gunfire still
pierces the night. Drug dealers still manage to do business.
Not far away, in a neighborhood called Barrio Figueroa, police sealed off
an area of several square blocks one recent night and then swooped in from
all sides. Rows of haggard, dazed men and women were flushed out of narrow
alleys and run-down wooden houses. Police lined them up against a cement
wall and frisked them, quickly filling a large plastic bag with crack
pipes, syringes and small bags of drugs. Other residents heckled from their
windows, asking why the cops were going after such small fry instead of the
big fish who run the drug trade.
"It's tragic to see what the quiet invasion of these drug traffickers has
done to this island. It is slowly tearing this place to shreds by creating
generations of addicts and killers with no values," said Sylvia Castillo,
27, a schoolteacher in San Juan.
"People don't look straight ahead anymore when they walk the streets around
here. They are constantly looking behind to make sure nobody mugs them or
tries to kill them," she said.
"Drugs have taken us hostage here. They have changed our way of life. I
mean, look around. Now we have to live behind gates and bars. And if you
are lucky enough you can afford to pay for an armed guard," said Manny
Mendosa, 38, an unemployed mechanic from San Juan. "I don't think
Washington has done enough for us. It is only concerned about stopping
drugs from getting to the mainland. Meanwhile, we are getting killed out
here."
Drugs and Death Of the 868 murders in 1996 on this island of 3.7 million
people, 80 percent were directly related to drug trafficking, said Pedro
Toledo, the police superintendent. Another 10 percent of the homicides were
indirectly attributable to drug trafficking, he said. In 1986, only 30
percent of the island's murders were drug related, officials said.
Health officials here estimate there are at least 67,000 people on the
island who are drug abusers or dependent on drugs, but said the figure
could be far higher. Health officials said they had detected a rise in the
use of Colombian heroin, a huge problem because the heroin is much purer
than before. While heroin sold on the streets in the 1970s was less than 10
percent pure, it is now often close to 90 percent pure. The purity leads to
a much more immediate dependency on the drug, health workers said.
The growing trafficking and accompanying violence has forced the government
to call out the National Guard in an unprecedented step to wrest back
control of parts of the city taken over by drug runners.
Of the 180 housing projects in San Juan, 80 have been taken over by the
National Guard. The troops usually stay for periods of several months,
while metal fences are put up around the project perimeters, small police
stations built, guard houses installed and the projects generally refurbished.
Then, aside from controlling security at entry points, the National Guard
withdraws, and the job of keeping the streets safe falls to small groups of
policemen, who often patrol on bicycles.
"It helps things for a while, but not for long," said one weary senior
police officer here. "People get tired of the hassle of getting in and out.
Policemen start dating the girls in the project, and pretty soon the drug
sellers come back, not as boldly, but quietly making sales."
Peering from the metal bars over the windows of small cement bloc houses at
Las Margaritas project one day last fall, several residents warily watched
visitors, then backed away and refused to talk when approached.
"Things are bad here, you can trust no one," said an elderly woman who
declined to be interviewed or give her name. "They still sell drugs here.
Leave us alone."
Just after she closed her window, two young men wearing sunglasses and gold
chains rounded the corner, stopped and peered at a visitor.
"Those are some of the drug dealers, but we have not been able to catch
them yet," said a policeman who watched them saunter by. "They still get in
and out of here and sell dope because young people here want to buy. They
are getting bolder all the time."
Crackdown in the Barrios In November, the local government began a program
to crack down on "megapuntos" like Barrio Figueroa - areas of wholesale
sales and distribution of cocaine, crack and heroin. Most of these drug
markets are located in poor housing projects where the National Guard is
not active.
"It is important that we take back the streets, that we maintain a presence
here so the drug traffickers are not here," said Lt. Col. Adalberto
Mercado, head of the Puerto Rican anti-narcotics police.
But not everyone agrees that simply cracking down on the most obvious
drug-sale sites is a solution.
Anibal Acevedo Vila, a spokesman for the opposition Popular Democratic
Party, said the crackdowns only forced dealers to relocate from
metropolitan areas to smaller towns in the surrounding mountains.
"The government has used [the sweeps] to give the impression that it is
dealing with the drug problem, but it is not enough," Acevedo said. "They
are not dealing with supply or demand. They are just dealing with the
distribution without attacking the roots of the problem."
"First, the fact is that this is a big business, and they are not going
after the big players," Acevedo added. "On a second level they are not
dealing with the health and social problems caused by drugs here."
Drug corruption has also seeped into Puerto Rico's prison system. An August
1997 report by a court-appointed monitor recommended the U.S. government
take over the prisons because violent drug gangs virtually controlled the
penal system.
The 340-page audit, the result of a 1979 class-action lawsuit over prison
overcrowding, found that gangs had control of the incoming mail, in effect
meaning that drugs and contraband were allowed to flow into the prison
unchecked. The study concluded the "authority of the staff had been ceded
to inmate domination to a degree that was never before seen."
Puerto Rican government officials said the size of the police force has
been increased significantly over the years and that the government has
been attacking the demand problem through a number of programs. They
include an aggressive media campaign and a treatment component involving
doctors, psychologists and social workers. Furthermore, drug courts were
established in 1994 in which judges try to identify first-time nonviolent
offenders, who they may allow to receive drug treatment in lieu of full
jail terms. So far, about 600 people have been treated in this program,
usually for a period of about 18 months.
But, Gov. Rossello said, "I don't think anyone can attack the demand side
in the short run."
The real question is what can be done to significantly reduce the flow of
drugs through Puerto Rico, and the ensuing social havoc, given the island's
open shoreline, geographic location and history of centuries of involvement
in contraband of all sorts.
"These criminals have unlimited budgets, they can spend whatever they want.
But we have limited resources. It is a difficult fight," Attorney General
Fuentes said. "I use the word fight and not war because by definition a war
is supposed to end. This will be with us for a long time."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Cartels 'Buying' Haiti ('Washington Post' Says Corruption Is Widespread
And Drug-Related Corruption Epidemic - No Successful Prosecutions
Of Drug Cases In Haiti In At Least Two Years - Though President Rene Preval
Has Orchestrated Arrests In Recent Months Of Nearly Three Dozen Officials,
Including Police Officers, A Prosecutor, Two Judges, Mayors, And Council Members
On Drug Charges That Include Complicity In Drug Trafficking And Dealing)
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 16:17:53 -0500
To: DrugSense News Service
From: Richard Lake
Subject: MN: Haiti: WP: Cartels 'Buying' Haiti
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Newshawk: Kevin Zeese
Pubdate: Mon, 16 Feb 1998
Source: Washington Post
Page: A22
Author: Serge F. Kovaleski, Washington Post Foreign Service
Contact: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
CARTELS 'BUYING' HAITI
Corruption Is Widespread; Drug-Related Corruption Epidemic
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti-Last March, authorities arrested a Colombian man as
he arrived at the international airport here lugging several suitcases
stuffed with 1,650 pounds of cocaine destined for the United States. Two
weeks later, under mysterious circumstances, the suspect was allowed to
leave Haiti unpunished, according to Haitian and U.S. law enforcement
sources. In the words of one U.S. investigator, "No one knows what . . .
happened to him or the drugs."
Around the same time, a Haitian driving a Mercedes-Benz through
Port-au-Prince was pulled over in a routine traffic stop by police, who
discovered 22 pounds of cocaine stashed in the trunk of the car. But a
senior government official soon ordered the release of the driver and his
car, law enforcement sources said.
Then in November, police seized a large cocaine shipment from a truck
apparently en route to the neighboring Dominican Republic that they had
detained at a roadblock in the southern port town of Miragoane. Within
hours, a group of the officers was back at the station dividing a large
chunk of the find among themselves. This time, though, part of the haul was
recovered by anti-drug police, who also arrested seven officers, as well as
a justice of the peace and a court clerk for allegedly falsifying the
initial report on the quantity confiscated.
When the Clinton administration spearheaded an international mission in
1994 to reinstate democratic rule in Haiti, rebuilding the country's
crooked and dysfunctional law enforcement institutions was to be a
cornerstone of the effort. The military government at the time had for
years forged strong, lucrative ties with South American drug traffickers,
giving several notorious drug lords carte blanche to live and conduct
business here. U.S. officials hoped to move the traffickers out.
Today, however, a growing epidemic of drug-related corruption is poisoning
that U.S.-backed endeavor and allowing Colombia's powerful cocaine and
heroin cartels to utilize this impoverished Caribbean island more than ever
as a major transit point to the United States.
Now that the U.N. peacekeeping mission here has ended, authorities fear the
situation may get worse. A senior U.S. official said this month that it is
now estimated that 7 percent of the cocaine that reaches the United States
passes through Haiti.
In recent months, nearly three dozen officials -- police officers, a
prosecutor, two judges, mayors, council members -- have been arrested on
drug charges that include complicity in drug trafficking and dealing. The
crackdown has been part of an attempt by President Rene Preval to counter
what many observers consider the most serious threat to this nation's
fragile democracy.
"Nowhere does a narco-dollar go further today than in Haiti," said another
U.S. investigator, referring to the ease with which cartels can smuggle and
harbor drugs here. "As a transshipment venue and a 'stash house' for
traffickers, Haiti is bigger than ever, it has never been worse, in large
part thanks to narco-corruption."
"The situation is quite simple here. People, including some police, are so
desperate for food and other things that dealing drugs or working for drug
traffickers would not be a second thought for many Haitians. Look what
happened in Flamand," said Port-au-Prince street vendor Michelle Beaux, 28,
referring to an incident last November when people in a southern fishing
village attacked smugglers transferring drugs from a vessel and split up
more than 1.5 tons of cocaine to sell.
"It is very easy to take advantage of poor people, and the drug traffickers
know it. It is also very sad what they are doing," Beaux said.
"We all look to God to help us, but that is different than the fast money
the drug traffickers offer people," said Rafael Charles, 29, as he sat in
his wheelchair on a Port-au-Prince street begging for money. "A lot of
Haitians, including politicians, have sold their souls for that money. And
nobody seems to be watching. Many of us have no choice. We have to eat, and
we want nice things."
The porous border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic enables Haitian
smugglers -- sometimes police officers -- to deliver narcotics freely from
the largely unprotected shores of their country to their Dominican
counterparts. They, in turn, move the contraband into the United States by
boat or plane, mostly through the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, about 80
miles away. A portion of Haiti's drug shipments is smuggled directly from
the island to eastern U.S. cities, such as Miami and New York, on large
container ships or individual "mules" flying on commercial airplanes.
Law enforcement officials noted, however, that Haiti for the most part has
become a feeder for Dominican traffickers, who not only work as
transporters for the Colombians, but have extensive sales networks in
profitable U.S. markets like New York City.
"Haiti's long history of economic and political instability, along with
rampant official corruption, have increased the inherent attractiveness of
the country as a crossroads of the drug trade," James S. Milford, retired
acting deputy administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration,
said in testimony last year at a House subcommittee hearing on drug
trafficking in the Caribbean.
"There is such a society of desperation and poverty that it is easy [for
drug traffickers] to get protection from the community," said Sandro
Calvani, the representative in the Caribbean for the U. N. Drug Control
Program.
Said one Haitian law enforcement official: "Basically, the drug cartels are
buying this country from the bottom up and from the top down. They are
corrupting everyone from poor townspeople to police officers and judges
with cash, and sometimes product, to make sure they consolidate their
positions on the island." Investigators said that up to a dozen suspected
Colombian traffickers are living in Haiti, trying to co-opt more public
officials here while managing the movement of vast amounts of cocaine and
heroin.
Observers noted, however, that one break with the past has been the
creation of the Hatian National Police department's Office of the Inspector
General, which has gone after corrupt officers on the force. All told, more
than 200 officers have been fired for reasons ranging from alleged drug
trafficking and dealing to excessive force. At least 60 are in prison
awaiting trial, and Preval is considering appointing a special prosecutor
to handle the increasing number of cases.
The inexperienced and low-paid Haitian National Police, a force of 5,300
officers that is largely U.S. trained, has proven to be brazenly
susceptible to corruption. In November, for example, three officers were
arrested on charges of working for a suspected drug dealer to torture and
kill her enemies.
Judges are generally paid even less than police officers, who earn about
$80 a month. Late last year, Preval was forced to intervene in two
corruption cases, ordering the arrest of one judge because he inexplicably
released a reputed Dominican drug trafficker and relieving another judge
who was accused of taking bribes in several drug-related cases, according
to government officials.
There have been no successful prosecutions of drug cases in Haiti in at
least the last two years.
In a recent interview, police chief Pierre Denize acknowledged that
corruption is a major problem. "A corrupt system is very much alive,"
Denize said. "We have ports that are really open ports. There is
nonexistent and ridiculously weak security. Sure, they [traffickers] love
Haiti, understandably so. Basically it comes down to the point of least
resistance. This is the regional point of least resistance."
to 1998 Daily News index for February 12-18