Why Immunity for the CIA? by Jacob G. Hornberger
(2020-08-11 at 11:56:47 )

Why Immunity for the CIA? by Jacob G. Hornberger

Amidst the controversy over the doctrine of qualified immunity for cops, no one is talking about the full immunity accorded to the Central Intelligence Agency, an agency within the national-security establishment that wields omnipotent power.

Among the most interesting lines in the new Amazon Prime series The Last Narc is what a CIA official says to DEA investigator Hector Berrellez, who was charged with leading the investigation into the kidnapping, torture, and murder of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena.

The CIA official tells Mr. Berrellez that the CIA is not a law-enforcement agency and, therefore, does not have to comply with the United States Constitution. Its mission, he said, is to protect the United States. Therefore, the implication is that the Constitution cannot be permitted to serve as a barrier to that end.

That is the way it has been since the beginning.

The CIA has had omnipotent power to do whatever it deems necessary to protect "national security." That includes, of course, the power of assassination, a power that the CIA assumed practically since its inception. In fact, as early as 1952, the CIA was developing a formal assassination manual for its assassins.

The CIA also wields the power of torture, the power to record its torture sessions, and the power to destroy such recordings to prevent Congress or the public from listening to them or viewing them.

The CIA also wields the power to lie, at least if it is in the interest of "national security."

No one jacks with the CIA.

Not the Justice Department, including every United States Attorney in the land. Not the United States Congress. Not the president. Not the military.

Who is going to mess with an organization that wields the omnipotent power to destroy or kill people and is more than w"?ling to exercise that power in the name of protecting "national security”?

The kidnapping, torture, and execution of Kike Camarena

A good example of this phenomenon is found in The Last Narc, which I wrote about in a blog post last week.

In 1985, 37-year-old DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena was kidnapped on the streets of Guadalajara, Mexico, and brutally tortured for 36 hours before finally being executed.

It was commonly believed that the crime had been committed by the Guadalajara drug cartel, which was headed by Rafael Caro Quintana, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, and Miguel Ángel Felix Gallardo, all of whom are featured in Netflixs series Narcos: Mexico. But Mexican officials steadfastly refused to extradite the three drug lords to the United States for trial.

The DEA assigned Mr. Berrellez to take charge of the investigation. Mr. Berrellez, who felt as comfortable operating in Mexico as he did in the United States, found three former members of the Jalisco State Police who were willing to talk. They came to the United States and told Mr. Berrellez that back in 1985, they had been working double jobs - as state policemen and also as bodyguards for Caro, Fonseca, and Gallardo.

Mr. Berrellez interviewed them separately to ensure the integrity of their statements. They each pointed toward complicity of high Mexican officials with the cartel in the distribution of drugs into the United States, which I do not think would surprise anyone.

The three former cops and bodyguards told Mr. Berrellez that they were in the room while Mr. Camarena was being tortured. Each of them stated that there were several high Mexican officials present in the house in which Mr. Camarena was being tortured while he was being tortured.

The heroism of Hector Berrellez

But then Mr. Berrellez discovered something else. According to the three former Mexican state policemen, a man named Max Gomez, also known as Felix Rodriguez, was inside the torture room and taking an active role in the brutal interrogation of Mr. Camarena. Mr. Berrellez investigated and determined that Mr. Rodriguez was a "retired" CIA agent.

Among the principal questions that was being addressed to Mr. Camarena was the extent to which he had discovered, in the course of his investigation, the nexus between the drug cartel, the CIA, and the Mexican government in the drug trade.

It was later learned that the interrogation was being recorded, which is something that one would not expect drug lords to do but that one would expect a CIA agent to do.

At that point, Mr. Berrellez was in trouble.

It is one thing to conduct an investigation that leads to the Mexican governments involvement in Mr. Camarenas torture and murder.

It is another thing to conduct an investigation that leads to the United States governments involvement in the torture and murder of a DEA agent who is also an United States of American citizen.

As Mr. Berrellez states in The Last Narc, he was warned to back off and let sleeping dogs lie. He was warned that if he did not, his life would be in jeopardy. If he did not back off, United States officials even threatened to forcibly return him to Mexico to face criminal charges that the Mexican government had leveled against him.

But Mr. Berrellez refused to back off, and so United States officials removed him from the investigation.

Even though he could have remained silent, he instead decided to go public with his findings and cooperated in the making of The Last Narc. He comes across as a heroic figure in the series.

For his part, Mr. Rodriguez denies that he was in the torture room or that he has had anything to do with Guadalajara cartel and with drug dealing, The problem, however, is that CIA agents will lie if they believe that it is in the interest of "national security." And they all know that they have immunity when it comes to lying and anything else that touches on "national security."

Full immunity for the CIA

Here you have a prima facie case of United States governmental involvement in the torture and assassination of a United States citizen, one who was an agent of the DEA.

The alleged purpose of the torture was to determine if Mr. Camarena had uncovered evidence of CIA complicity with the Guadalajara Cartel and the Mexican government in the drug trade. Three witnesses, all giving their testimony separately, identified Mr. Rodriquez as one of Mr. Camarenas interrogators.

That is clearly enough evidence to launch a formal investigation into the matter. Perhaps it is worth mentioning that Mr. Camarena’s murder took place during Iran Contra, when United States officials were breaking the law to raise the money to give to the Nicaraguan contras.

Has any of this caused any United States Attorney or the United States Congress to launch an aggressive investigation into the matter?

Do not make me laugh.

This is the CIA we are talking about.

No one investigates the CIA, which makes the United States government as crooked and corrupt as the Mexican government. If you want to get a good sense of how both governments operate, I highly recommend watching The Last Narc.

Reprinted here with permission from Mr. Jacob G. Hornberger of The Future of Freedom Foundation!! Their Great Website!!