Ghosts from the Past

By ACI for Borderland Beat

 
Jorge Miguel Aldana Ibarra, a man who is currently wanted by the DEA for his alleged participation in the torture and murder of Kiki Camarena is a free man in Mexico. Aldana Ibarra was linked to the crime by several witnesses that were also convicted in Kiki's death. But before we reveal what he has been up recently, a little history.

The story of Kiki Camarena has been told many times. It has been regarded as a major escalation in the war on drugs.

This is an excerpt from a piece I wrote some time ago that gives some background on Kiki.

Enrique Camarena, an agent with the Drug Enforcement Agency began working in Guadalajara in 1981. His goal was to find out how powerful the Guadalajara Cartel had become. At the time he was only one of a handful of agents working within Mexico. He spent years infiltrating the Guadalajara Cartel for the DEA and had built close ties to El Padrino. Everything was going according to plan until the betrayal.

Miguel reacted and had Enrique kidnapped, tortured then killed, to serve as a warning to any who might want to disrupt cartel business. The blow back was historic; the United States began the largest murder investigation in its history. It did not take long before Miguel was identified as a target of interest. The United States put an enormous amount of pressure on the Mexican Government to apprehend Miguel. It would take the authorities 5 more years before they would be able to secure his arrest in 1989.

While this tells of how Kiki betrayed the powers that be, there is much more to this story. BB has received numerous documents detailing the kidnapping and torture of Kiki. The people who were present might surprise most who are not familiar with the story. One of those involved was Jorge Miguel Aldana Ibarra.

Jorge Miguel Aldana Ibarra has a long history with drug traffickers, dating all the way back to the Guadalajara Cartel. He once held the coveted position as the head of INTERPOL in Mexico. He led the greatly promoted “Operation Pacific,” which targeted 114 gangs and six thousand suspects. Authorities seized over 11 tons of narcotics and an arsenal of thousands of high-powered weapons. It was promoted as one of the greatest blows against organized crime at the time. He was thought to be incorruptible; it’s amazing how wrong this assumption was.

 

This is an actual memo by Special Agent Arthur Werge detailing the kidnapping, torture and murder of Kiki:

(XXXXXXXXXXXXXX) AVW: bbb

On September 9, 1992, (XXXXXXX) provided the following information:

The DEA agent Camarena, was kidnapped for his relationship with Sarah Cossio, a mistress of Rafael Caro Quintero, with the initial intention simply to "heat him up" and teach him a lesson. Camarena was, indeed, severely beaten and tortured. As a result, Javier Garcia, also known as the little chief, gave the order to kill him. Camarena was taken in a gray van to the ranch of Emilio Caro Quintero, current located on the grounds of La Primavera, where he was buried in one of the animal pens on the ranch. The special pen was on the left side of the entrance to the ranch. He was buried there by RAMON COSSIO OF MORA, "El Guero" Velasco, and (first name unknown) RIVERA RODRIGUEZ. After he was buried alive in Caro Emilio's ranch Quintero, the body was moved to another ranch, El Mareno, a helicopter owned by the Attorney General transported the body. All recordings of the interrogation and torture of Camarena were recorded by MAGDALENA SANTILLAN. Statements were given to Miguel Aldana Ibarra. According to source, NDP Alcaraz, a Mexican man who runs gambling operations in Guadalajara, Mexico has the actual possession of these recordings.(XXXXXXXXXXXXXX) AVW: bbb

In March 1985 Newsweek accused Jorge Miguel Aldana Ibarra, then director of Interpol-Mexico, of protecting a Honduran drug trafficker who was being pursued for Camarena’s death. Aldana Ibarra is said to have delayed his detention while the man stayed in a hotel in Mexico City. The PRG also reported that Aldana Ibarra protected Caro Quintero, Jaime Figueroa Soto and other traffickers. They also reported that Aldana Ibarra was there during a meeting of both government and cartel heavy hitters who were discussing options for dealing with the DEA. It was at this meeting which they decided that they had to send the DEA a message.

What make this even worse is that there have been several claims that he was an actual participant in Kiki's death. He has been charged with this offense in the United States. There have been several witness accounts which not only implicate Aldana Ibarra in covering up the torture and killing but also place him at the scene, some going as far as to say he participated in the torture.

He was arrested in Mexico in 1990 at his home in Cuernavaca, 51 miles southeast of Mexico City. Agents confiscated 2.2 pounds of pure cocaine, six automatic rifles and several rounds of ammunition. His extradition to the United States never happened. He was later released and has been walking around Mexico a free man, our source claims he is untouchable.

The indictment of both Aldana Ibarra and his cousin Ibarra Herrera caused quite a strain on US Mexican relations. There was an enormous amount of pressure from the United States to extradite these people. It seems however that wasn’t enough; neither lives in fear of extradition to the United States. Mexican authorities have even released a statement saying that they will not pursue criminal charges against the two.

The crimes he is charged with in the United States are as follows:

· Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering

· Conspiracy to Commit Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering

· Conspiracy To Kidnap a Federal Agent

· Kidnapping of a Federal Agent

· Felony Murder of a Federal Agent

· Aiding and Abetting

· Accessory After the Fact

http://www.justice.gov/dea/fugitives/la/aldana.htm

Here is a link to his indictment:

http://www.reneverdugo.org/pdf/Pleadings/Superseding%20Indictments/6th%20Superseding%20Indictment.pdf

Aldana Ibarra has been quite busy since becoming a free man. He has started his own law firm called Corporativo J.M. Aldana I & Asociados. It represents many people connected with organized crime. He also purchased the newspaper Excelsior which reportedly cost 150 million dollars to acquire.

As if to add insult to injury, Aldana Ibarra started a NGO named Confederación Nacional de Seguridad y Justicia (CONASEJU), or National Confederation of Security and Justice of Mexico. This organization has held several marches with the association of famed poet Javier Sicily. Aldana Ibarra has also held many talks with government officials regarding the strategies of Garcia Luna and Calderon. This is quite striking considering he is wanted in the US for murder and kidnapping.

And for those who may think Aldana Ibarra has changed his life for the better, he was recently involved in a violent incident in 2011 while at a strip club. Armed men burst through the front door assaulting many patrons. He and his son were both injured and the culprits were arrested.

The DEA has been notified of his home address, personal telephone numbers as well as the vehicles he drives, their license plates numbers and the names of his security team.  There is even information on the guns they use, which are illegal I might add.

The DEA upon being notified of this information responded to this new information saying, “He is untouchable for reasons which cannot be discussed.” They would not elaborate further on this.

What chance is there for Mexico when people like Aldana Ibarra are allowed to not only walk free, but to play the role of savior and defender of innocents? We cannot verify why law enforcement are unable to act on the information presented.  It is clear however from the information we have received that there is great reluctance on the part of the DEA to pursue the information further. We leave the rest up to speculation.