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 News from Around the Americas | February 2007 
Arellano Félix Witness Says Arrest Was in Mexican Waters
 Kelly Thornton - San Diego Union-Tribune
| | Reward poster for members of the Arellano-Felix Organization by the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs - Setp. 2003. |
Yacht captain Edgar Omar Osorio testified yesterday that the arrest of him and his passengers, including suspected drug kingpin Francisco Javier Arellano Félix, took place in Mexican waters, about 8 to 10 nautical miles off Cabo San Lucas.
Prosecutors have contended the arrests by U.S. officials while Arellano and others were on a fishing expedition occurred 1.1 nautical miles into international waters, according to two global positioning devices secretly installed by agents. Arellano's defense attorneys contend the arrests were illegal and violated the sovereignty of Mexico.
Osorio, a material witness who has not been charged, also testified that in the aftermath of the takedown on Aug. 14, U.S. officials directed him to move the boat “out to sea” for 40 minutes to an hour at a speed of 8 knots, or about 10 mph.
Osorio was answering questions from defense lawyers for Arellano and a co-defendant, Manuel Arturo Villarreal Heredia. The two are accused of various drug, murder, conspiracy and money laundering charges along with other suspected cartel members.
The defense lawyers were trying to show that U.S. officials were mindful of the boundary and eager to move the boat into international waters. If the incident did happen in Mexico, the defense attorneys could seek dismissal of the case on grounds that Arellano was illegally arrested.
Failing that, they could ask that evidence seized on the boat be thrown out because it was the result of an unlawful seizure, or they could try to force the U.S. government to abandon any plans to seek Arellano's execution.
Traditionally, Mexico has refused to send anyone to the United States who would face the death penalty, which is barred in Mexico. There could be political ramifications if the U.S. government violated international law and breached the sovereignty of Mexico to apprehend Arellano.
Prosecutors contend that the location of the arrest is insignificant and has no bearing on the facts of the case. Cooperation on extradition between the two countries has improved significantly in recent months, and some legal observers have said Mexican officials would be unlikely to intervene on behalf of an Arellano, and perhaps disrupt the dismantling of its most feared drug cartel.
It's not unusual for material witnesses to be deposed by attorneys, but it was rare to see it happen in open court.
Arellano and Villarreal sat stoically during Osorio's testimony. Though Osorio was asked to identify the two men as being on the boat, he did not look at them directly. He seemed stiff, uncomfortable and reluctant, with his arms folded across his chest for most of the hearing.
On several occasions, he conceded during questioning that he previously lied to defense attorneys and prosecutors alike about prior encounters with Arellano because, “I was nervous and frightened and I still am. . . . In six months a lot of things have happened to me, and not good things.”
He had been in custody almost six months. But recently he approached the government and agreed to talk. He said his wife had died in Mexico, and his children need him.
At the conclusion of two hours of testimony, U.S. District Judge Larry Burns balked when defense attorneys asked the judge to keep Osorio in custody so he could testify at trial on behalf of Arellano.
Burns said there was no need to hold Osorio because he had been thoroughly questioned by the defense, the questioning was videotaped, and prosecutors have said they have no intention of using Osorio's statements during trial.
Kelly Thornton: (619) 542-4571; kelly.thornton@uniontrib.com |
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