U.S. Grand Jury Quietly Investigates Killing of Drug Agent in Mexico

WASHINGTON — U.S. officials, critical of the pace of a Mexican inquiry into the kidnaping and murder of federal drug agent Enrique S. Camarena nearly a year ago, have quietly convened a grand jury in Washington to take testimony in the case, The Times learned Friday.

The highly sensitive proceeding, which has been under way for at least two months, underscores U.S. efforts to retain a strong role in the Camarena inquiry, regardless of what action Mexican authorities take.

Camarena and Alfredo Zavala Avelar, a Mexican pilot who had flown missions for the Drug Enforcement Administration, were kidnaped from separate locations in Guadalajara last Feb. 7. Their battered bodies were found March 5 in a shallow grave on a nearby ranch.

From the start, the case has placed a serious strain on U.S.-Mexico relations, at one point prompting American authorities to clamp down on vehicle traffic along the border. Assistant Atty. Gen. Stephen S. Trott is understood to have emphasized the need for keeping secret the existence of the grand jury inquiry to avoid a further bruising of feelings.

Traffickers Jailed

After top U.S. drug enforcement officials initially complained of foot-dragging by Mexican authorities, two drug traffickers, Rafael Caro Quintero and Ernesto Fonesca Carrillo, were jailed in Mexico City on murder, kidnaping and drug-smuggling charges.

But others believed to have been involved in the crime, including Jalisco state police officials, have been questioned but never charged, officials said.

On Friday, a DEA spokesman said the Mexican investigation into the deaths still is “moving frustratingly slowly. We’re convinced the Mexican attorney general’s office is involved in the investigation, but it’s not moving as vigorously as we would prefer.

“At the same time,” he conceded, “we’re also aware that the justice system of our two countries is different and that Mexican authorities may not rank (the Camarena slaying) as highly as we do.”

The federal grand jury is looking into the case under terms of a section of the U.S. Criminal Code making it a crime to murder or attempt to murder various federal officials, including DEA agents. Maximum punishment provided by the law is the death penalty.

Justice Department and DEA spokesmen declined Friday to confirm that the grand jury had been convened. But sources familiar with the probe said a special unit of DEA agents has been assigned to the inquiry, which is being overseen by the department’s criminal division.

San Diego Arraignment

Sources said the grand jury heard testimony Thursday from Rene Martin Verdugo, a suspected drug smuggler believed to have been a witness to the torture-slayings of Camarena and Zavala. Verdugo was arraigned in San Diego last Monday on charges of smuggling a ton of marijuana from Tucson to Vista, Calif., in December, 1983.

But sources said the government’s major interest in Verdugo, who is the first Mexican national known to have been questioned in the U.S. inquiry, is any information he could provide in the Camarena investigation. One official said investigators believe that he was at Caro Quintero’s ranch, the alleged site of the slaying of Camarena and Zavala.

Howard Frank, Verdugo’s San Diego-based attorney, said Friday that his client’s appearance before the grand jury was “very brief.” He added, “From everything I know, he has absolutely no involvement in the offense, and I have no knowledge of his witnessing anything regarding Camarena.”

Officials said the grand jury is also interested in taking testimony from Werner Lotz, a Costa Rican pilot who is suspected of flying Caro Quintero from Mexico to San Jose, Costa Rica, after Camarena’s kidnaping. Mexican police allowed the flight to take off, although DEA agents had informed them of Caro Quintero’s alleged involvement.

Lotz was extradited to Miami from Panama on a U.S. warrant last Dec. 6 and has been in custody since then.