Door slammed on documents in border agent's disputed case

Jesus Diaz Jr.

A federal judge has slammed the door on documents regarding the prosecution and conviction of a Border Patrol agent for his actions in arresting a smuggler caught hauling 75 pounds of drugs into the United States.

The order from the judge, Alia Moses, comes on the heels of a WND report based some of those targeted documents revealing that the unidentified teenage drug smuggler had lied on the scene about any knowledge of marijuana, thereby compromising his credibility.

The previously obtained documents stated about the case:

On April 16, 2009, AUSA (Assistant U.S. Attorney) Schall contacted SSA (Senior Special Agent) White and advised that he had conferred with U.S. Department of Justice, Prosecutor Michal Frank, the USAO (U.S. Attorney's Office)/San Antonio and the USAO/Del Rio. AUSA Schall stated that based on the information that [Name Redacted] was apprehended in what appeared to be illegal activity of smuggling marihuana (sic) into the U.S., and that he lied to BPAs (Border Patrol Agents) on the scene about any knowledge of marijuana; [Name Redacted] credibility was questionable at best. Further, based on the fact that [Name Redacted] was not available to testify about the alleged use of excessive force applied to him by BPA DIAZ, and there did not appear to be any chance of locating him in the near future, the USAO/Del Rio declined to prosecute BPA DIAZ.

The order from the judge was in response to a request from prosecutors in the court district, who asked that a gag order be issued in the case.

Click here to sign a petition sending a message to the federal government about Border Patrol Agent Jesus Diaz

The case documents also previously revealed that the government's own investigators twice had cleared Diaz before a prosecution was assembled following pressure from the Mexican government.

Diaz is in federal prison serving a two-year criminal sentence in solitary confinement.

The judge wrote, "On this day came on to be heard the government's motion for a protective order concerning the discovery materials related to this cause number. Having considered same, motion is hereby granted. It is, therefore, ordered that defendant and defendant's attorneys shall not disclose any part of the discovery materials related to this cause number previously disclosed or disclosed later to defendant, to anyone other than the defendant's attorneys or the court."

Andy Ramirez, president of the Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council, which is working on the Diaz case, told WND the action of the U.S. attorney's office was designed to cut WND and other news agencies off from documentary evidence that if made public would embarrass the Obama administration in the Diaz case.

He also pointed to the political leanings of the judge as suspicious, noting that the League of United Latin American Citizens lobbied strongly for the judge's appointment, adopting a formal resolution on her behalf.

The ethnic group-oriented organization's statement said, "This appointment will provide the restoration and recognition of the Hispanic's equal standing in American society, our respect and honor as a people and the dignity that our heritage has given us."

Further, the similarly oriented Hispanic National Bar Association gave an annual "Latina Judge of the Year" award to Moses.

Ramirez reported his sources in the region in Texas had confirmed that Moses was linked to law enforcement through a cousin, Alex Moses, a border agent who was caught up in a drug arrest several years earlier. Facing up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty, Alex Moses was given five years probation, Ramirez reported.

Among other information that was in the earlier published document was the fact that the drug smuggler appeared to be relatively free of injury at the time of his apprehension over the scuffle that later led to charges against the officer.

"In his statement [Name Redacted] did not complain that he was injured, hurt, or in pain when the official twisted his arms and applied the 'heavy pressure,'" the document confirmed, referring to the teenage drug smuggler. "[Name redacted] was processed for voluntary return to Mexico by BPA Marco A. Ramirez, and subsequently returned to Mexico on the same date."

"It is our contention that this motion [requesting a gag order] is in direct response to the story by WND reporter Jerome Corsi as published on November 9, 2011, in which WND published a key document by the DHS Office of Professional Responsibility identifying that their part in the case was closed and that the narco-trafficker 'MBE' was deemed not a credible witness," Ramirez said in a statement on the group's website.

"The government's case is based on false testimony that is contradicted by the facts," he continued. "Clearly, the U.S. attorney's office is concerned that WND will obtain other documents proving the prosecution of Diaz involved an abuse of government authority."

Ramirez maintained that the U.S. attorney's office wants to make it as difficult as possible for Diaz to clear his name.

"The best way to do that is to keep the lights out, so the public cannot see," Ramirez said. "The publication of the OPR memo by WND was humiliating to the Obama administration because the document exposed that the prosecution was without basis, resting on the testimony of a teenage drug-dealer who had no credibility."

Separately, WND has obtained a letter sent by the U.S. attorney's office, dated Nov. 7, 2011, in the Western District of Texas to the Diaz family demanding payment of a nearly $7,000 fine within 30 days.

The government letter specified that the government has placed a lien on all Diaz assets, including the family home held in the name of Diaz's wife, such that the Diaz family cannot sell any assets, including the family home, without the permission of the government.

"This demand letter is another outrage," Ramirez said, "in that the judge at Diaz's sentencing told the family that the government would make no attempt to collect the fine until Diaz had served his prison term."

Ramirez said it appears the Justice Department "wanted a scalp" to satisfy authorities in Mexico.

On October 20, U.S. District Judge Alia Moses sentenced Diaz to 24 months in prison after he was found guilty in a federal criminal trial of denying the Mexican teenager of his constitutional rights by applying excessive force during the incident.

According to the FreeAgentDiaz.com website, Diaz was "maliciously prosecuted at the request of the Mexican consul in Eagle Pass, Texas."

The legal case against the officer was "solely motivated by politics and is yet another example of prosecutorial abuse and misconduct while protecting Mexico's narco-terror influences," organizers of the website said.

Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean

Border watchers will remember the extended battle fought by Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean after they were prosecuted, convicted and jailed, again at the request of the Mexican government, for shooting at and striking a drug smuggler who reportedly dropped a load in the U.S. and was fleeing back to Mexico.

Their punishments ultimately were commuted by President George W. Bush, although they did not receive pardons, leaving their convictions on their records.

Their original case stemmed from the Feb. 17, 2005, shooting of Oswaldo Aldrete-Davila. The two officers said they thought Aldrete-Davila was armed and made a threatening move.

WND was among the first to report Aldrete-Davila then committed a second drug offense, smuggling a second load of 750 pounds of marijuana across the border while he was under the protection of immunity from federal prosecutor Johnny Sutton's office and in possession of a border-pass card authorized by the Department of Homeland Security.

WND also reported when Aldrete-Davila admitted to federal drug smuggling charges, was convicted and sentenced to federal prison for a 57 months.

Aldrete-Davila was granted immunity for his drug smuggling by federal prosecutors in exchange for his testimony against the agents. He had crossed the Rio Grande and picked up a marijuana-loaded vehicle near El Paso. After a car chase in which he fled from the officers, he abandoned the vehicle and ran back across the border on foot. He was shot in the buttocks as he ran.

Click here to sign a petition sending a message to the federal government about Border Patrol Agent Jesus Diaz