Pubdate: Thu, 04 Jan 2001 Source: El Paso Times (TX) Copyright: 2001 El Paso Times Contact: P.O.Box 20, El Paso, Texas 79999 Fax: (915) 546-6415 Website: http://www.elpasotimes.com/ Author: Diana Washington Valdez, El Paso Times MEXICAN LAW OFFICIALS FACE CORRUPTION CHARGES JUAREZ -- The top federal law enforcement officials assigned to Chihuahua state and 15 agents under them have been arrested on charges of corruption by the nation's new Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha. Officials said the federal attorney general's Chihuahua district director, Norberto J. Suarez Gomez, and deputy director, Jose M. Diaz Perez, were in custody Wednesday in connection with the alleged sale of positions within the attorney general's office. The posts to which Suarez and Diaz were assigned are the U.S. equivalent of FBI district director and assistant director. They also served on the Border Liaison Mechanism, which includes law enforcement officials from the El Paso-Juarez region. It has been speculated that some top law enforcement positions in Mexico were treated like franchises to be sold and bought by the highest bidders. However, this is the first time border officials have been charged with selling a federal post. The posts are coveted because they can lead to lucrative partnerships with organized crime or access to valuable contraband, authorities have said. "This is a positive sign on the part of the Vicente Fox administration," said Richard Schwein, former special agent in charge of the El Paso FBI office. "The question is whether the authorities can be successful and make the charges stick." Mexican President Vicente Fox, who took control Dec. 1, promised during his campaign to crack down on corruption by officials. In a statement, Mexican authorities said Suarez and Diaz were detained Dec. 30 "behind the attorney general's office (in Mexico City) where (Suarez) was to meet (Diaz) to give him $500,000 so that (Diaz) could get a different position." Authorities said Suarez told Diaz that the money was intended for Alfonso Navarrete Prida, the national deputy attorney general in Mexico City overseeing general coordination and development. Navarrete and Suarez denied the allegations. Authorities said Diaz cooperated in the investigation but was denied witness-protection status "because he would not say where the money came from." Although Mexican federal authorities oversee most drug-related investigations, federal officials have not solved any of the hundreds of drug executions and abductions in Juarez attributed to the Carrillo Fuentes drug organization. They also have not arrested any major drug dealers since Gilberto "El Grenas" Ontiveros Lucero was jailed in 1989. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D