Mexico to Free 3 in Drug Case : U.S. Satisfied They Did Not Abduct Agent

U.S. officials said Tuesday that three men arrested in connection with the kidnaping of an American narcotics agent were about to be freed and that the United States has no objection to the move.

They said Mexican officials told them Tuesday afternoon that the release of the three men was imminent, but late in the evening, it was not known if they had actually been freed. The Americans added that they are “satisfied” that the three took no part in the abduction.

Lee Johnson, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy, said Tomas Morlet Borquez was taken into custody Sunday, along with two men described as bodyguards, by Mexican police acting on information supplied by Francis M. Mullen, director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

“Mullen thought the one guy, Morlet, should be talked with about the possible information he might have,” Johnson said. “We are now satisfied from their answers that they had nothing to do with the kidnaping. We are quite sure they were not involved.”

There was no explanation for the fact that a DEA official in Washington denied Monday that the arrests were made at Mullen’s request.

DEA agents were present when the suspects were questioned, other U.S. officials said.

The sudden development, which caught U.S. Ambassador John Gavin by surprise as he was holding a news conference here, deepened the puzzle surrounding the abduction of DEA agent Enrique S. Camarena in Guadalajara on Feb. 7.

Asked by reporters who crowded around him after Gavin’s news conference if the investigation was “back to square one,” Johnson replied, “Exactly.”

Embassy officials also said they do not know the whereabouts of Rafael Caro Quintero, reputedly a major operator in the Mexican drug trade, who was named by Mullen as an important figure in the Camarena investigation. Caro Quintero was allowed by Mexican police to take off from the Guadalajara airport in a small plane after the kidnaping despite an outstanding order for his arrest.

Johnson verified Mexican newspaper reports that DEA agents were present at the airport when the incident took place, although they were apparently overruled in efforts to have Caro Quintero arrested.

“We gave the Mexican government information on Caro Quintero and, the way I understand it, it was their decision, at that low level, that he be allowed to leave,” Johnson said. “We were told he was not on the plane, to be exact.”

The pilot of the airplane was subsequently arrested. He has told Mexican police that the airplane, a private jet, belongs to Caro Quintero and that the owner was aboard the plane under an assumed name when it left Guadalajara.

The pilot said he took Caro Quintero and several companions to Caborca, in Sonora state, to attend a sister’s wedding.

In response to a question, Johnson acknowledged that the evidence against Caro Quintero is “circumstantial.”

‘He’s Under Suspicion’

“There are certain people that we suspect of being more capable or being more willing to get themselves involved in this and I don’t want to say it’s Caro Quintero but, obviously, he’s one of the persons under suspicion,” the spokesman said.

Caro Quintero’s getaway has become a focal point of the controversy surrounding the abduction of Camarena. In the U.S. view, it points to corruption or collusion in the illicit narcotics trade by some Mexican police agencies.

“There are certain individuals and agencies in our government who have been distressed and disappointed by the lack of vigor and the lack of attention which they have perceived was given to this particular case and certain others,” Gavin said.

Improvement in Vigor

The indications of laxity, the ambassador said, “might simply be the tip of an iceberg.” However, he added that there has been “a pickup and improvement in the vigor with which this investigation is now being conducted, and we sincerely hope the vigor and energy are going to continue.”

Gavin also sought to absolve President Miguel de la Madrid and members of his Cabinet from responsibility for actions taken at lower levels of the government.

“I believe, my President believes, my secretary of state believes, that President de la Madrid is an honest and upright man,” Gavin declared. “We have faith in him.”

As for members of De la Madrid’s Cabinet--specifically Atty. Gen. Sergio Garcia Ramirez and Manuel Bartlett, the chief of the Cabinet--the U.S. ambassador said: “We think they are people of strength and rectitude and honesty. . . . Obviously, from what we have been talking about here, there are problems of corruption at lower levels, but (De la Madrid) is aware of them. He’s the first that would want to stamp them out.”

The envoy said that the question of issuing a travel advisory warning U.S. citizens of possible dangers to tourists in the area of Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta is still under consideration in Washington. But he added, “I hope we don’t have to do it.”

Gavin confirmed Mullen’s charges that Mexican authorities have failed to arrest major drug traffickers for several years despite leads provided by DEA agents and the ostensible implementation of a strong anti-drug program here.

‘Al Capone Method’

“The authorities here tell us they have found it difficult to arrest some of these gang overlords,” Gavin said. “We have suggested that perhaps ‘asset searches’ might be a good way to attack the problem and that they might be taken in by the so-called Al Capone method, through the fiscal side rather than the criminal side.”

Capone, a Prohibition-era gang leader in Chicago, was suspected of many major crimes but was finally arrested and convicted on charges of federal income tax evasion.