Protection for Verdugo Captors Told : Deal Was for Delivery of Suspect in Drug Agent’s Death

A federal prosecutor conceded in U.S. District Court on Friday that six Mexicans were granted protection in the United States last month after they turned over to U.S. authorities a man linked to the torture-slaying of American drug agent Enrique S. Camarena.

At a court hearing here, U.S. District Judge J. Lawrence Irving said he was inclined to order the men--four of whom until recently were Baja California State Judicial Police--to meet with him at a secret location to answer questions about their role in the alleged kidnaping of Rene Martin Verdugo, an accused Mexican drug smuggler who U.S. officials say observed Camarena’s torture last year.

But Irving postponed making such a decision for a week after Assistant U.S. Atty. Stephen G. Nelson protested and requested time to gather evidence to demonstrate that the judge, the six Mexicans and the government’s ongoing investigation of the Camarena slaying could be harmed by such a meeting.

Illegal Arrest Charged

Verdugo’s defense lawyer, Howard Frank, wants drug smuggling charges against the 34-year-old Mexicali land developer dropped, alleging that his arrest was illegal and that U.S. courts have no authority to try him. Verdugo claims he was kidnaped Jan. 24 by six masked men in San Felipe, Baja California, blindfolded, driven to the U.S. border at Calexico and pushed through a fence into the hands of U.S. marshals.

Frank also said his client was not present during Camarena’s torture, as alleged by U.S. officials who have listened to a tape recording of the torture session.

U.S. authorities officially have denied knowledge of any kidnaping of Verdugo. But the Immigration and Naturalization Service confirmed earlier this week that the six alleged abductors and their families had been granted special permission to remain in the United States for three to six months. Federal sources said the men had received threats from Mexican drug traffickers upset at their supposed role in Verdugo’s capture.

Official’s Admission

In court Friday, Nelson became the first U.S. official to acknowledge the men’s participation in the arrest. “The government will readily concede that the United States acquired physical possession of Mr. Verdugo as a result of the activities of these five or six individuals who are now, for their own safety, being maintained somewhere in the United States,” he said.

Nelson argued that the admission eliminated any necessity for Irving or defense attorneys to question the men. Even a private hearing at a secret location, with only the judge and a court reporter present, would risk compromising federal investigations and invite foul play against Irving, the six Mexicans and federal agents, Nelson said.

The judge, who said he is not concerned about his own safety, said he hoped to learn from the Mexicans whether the U.S. government had any knowledge of, or a role in, the alleged kidnaping.

Different Interpretation

Frank has argued that any such government involvement would be cause to drop the charges against Verdugo. Prosecutors say the circumstances by which an alien fugitive comes into the custody of U.S. authorities are irrelevant under federal law and past court rulings, unless that fugitive had been tortured.

Camarena, 37, and Alfredo Zavala Avelar, a Mexican pilot who often worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration, were kidnaped last February in Guadalajara. Their decomposed bodies were found on a ranch near there a month later.

The Times reported Friday that U.S. authorities had obtained a tape recording of Camarena’s torture and identified the man supervising it as a highly placed official of the Mexican Federal Judicial Police.