Eric Holder's System of Justice | Eastern North Carolina Now

    As Border Patrol Agent Jesus "Chito" Diaz left for work on October 15, 2008, he kissed his wife goodbye and hugged his children. His wife, Diana, had a gut check of impending danger as he walked out the door, and that is a normal reaction for a spouse going in harm's way and carrying a gun. Her fear could not have prepared her for the nightmare that was lurking in the shadows to engulf her and her entire family.

    About 2 a.m. on October 16, 2008, agent Diaz and other members of his team encountered a group of Mexican dope smugglers. The smuggler that agent Diaz captured was a fifteen year old boy who was carrying 75 pounds of marijuana on his back. Using standard police procedure the smuggler was handcuffed with his hands behind is back and told to lay face down on the ground. The smuggler was struggling to get up, so some force was necessary to keep the smuggler on the ground.
United States Attorney General Eric Holder: Above.     photo by Stan Deatherage
    The Mexican smuggler was allowed to return to Mexico, and although the only marks on his body were from the straps of the backpack of drugs he was carrying, he told the Mexican authorities that he had been beaten and tortured by agent Diaz. The Mexican government filed a complaint and demanded that agent Diaz be prosecuted. The allegations against Diaz, a seven year veteran of the Border Patrol, initially were investigated by Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of Professional Responsibility, which cleared Diaz of all wrong doing. The Mexican government was not satisfied. They wanted Diaz in prison.

    Despite being cleared of all charges, the Obama Justice Department went forward with prosecution against Diaz. Since the Attorney General, Eric Holder, has staffed his department with ACLU lawyers who think that terrorists have the same rights as U.S. citizens. The Obama Justice department has made it clear that they are more concerned with fulfilling the interests of foreign countries, in this case Mexico, than protecting American citizens. The Obama Justice Department has made it clear that they have no respect for our Border Patrol agents in the light of Operation Fast and Furious that resulted in the murder of Border Patrol Agent, Brian Terry. Agent Terry's family is still waiting for an apology from the Justice Department.

    Buckling under pressure from Mexico, Eric Holder prosecuted Jesus Diaz by using a very vague civil rights strategy. The trial was held in the court room of U.S. District Judge Alia Moses Ludlum in San Antonio. The judge did not allow pictures of the smuggler in court that would show that there were no injuries, and the smuggler admitted in open court that he had no injuries. Several witnesses later admitted that they perjured themselves in court. The smuggler was brought back from Mexico and given immunity to testify against Diaz. Judge Ludlum demanded that agent Diaz apologize to the smuggler, but he refused. Judge Ludlum sentenced agent Diaz to two years in prison, a $6,000 fine, and $270,000 to be paid to the smuggler who was breaking our laws for his pain and suffering. Judge Ludlum also said, "Just because you have a badge and gun doesn't give you the right to violate a smuggler's rights." Judge Ludlum considered 75 pounds of marijuana to be a misdemeanor.

    When lawmen are imprisoned, they have to be kept in isolation for protection, and yet they there is always the possibility of injury from the general population, so his wife and family fear for his life. The court is demanding his wife mortgage their home to pay the $6,000 fine. Diana Diaz is also a Border Patrol Agent, so the court is taking steps to garnish her wages for the payment of the fine.

    When agent Diaz is released from prison, he will be considered a convicted felony, so he can not visit his wife, who carries a gun as a Border Patrol Agent nor can he visit his children. His brother is also in law enforcement, so they can't visit each other. Agent Diaz's life has been destroyed, by Eric Holder because he was doing what he was hired to do, and that was to protect the United States of America.

    The acrimonious atmosphere between judges in Texas and the Border Patrol has been going on for years. As to why the judges have so little respect for the Border Patrol and the job they are performing under hazardous conditions, I don't know, but let me give you an example.

    Fifty-five years ago, when I was in El Paso, a Border Patrol Agent told me about an experience he had with a local judge. When they captured an illegal alien, they had to process the illegal through a local court, so they could deport to the Mexican back to Mexico. The judge in this one case not only refused to deport the illegal, but he forced everyone in the courtroom to contribute money to the illegal, and that included the arresting officer-the Border Patrol agent.

   Over the years, the working relationship between judges and the Border Patrol has become even more contentious. They are not satisfied with forcing the agents to make contributions to the law breakers they arrest; now they want to put the arresting agent in prison and let the law breakers go free. Border Patrol agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, were arrested after chasing an illegal drug smuggler, who was shot in the butt. The two agents were convicted and sent to prison, while the smuggler was granted immunity to return from Mexico to testify against the two agents. The smuggler continued to use his immunity to make several more trips across the border smuggling drugs. In other words, the justice department has the smuggler a free get out of jail card for testifying against the two Border Patrol agents.

    Where do we get these courageous men and women, who valiantly stand in harm's way while trying to stem the tide of human and drug smuggling into our country? Not only do they face the constant dangers from the smugglers, but they have to worry about their own country stabbing them in the back at every opportunity.

    If a law enforcement officer can be sent to prison for just handcuffing a law breaker, this can have a very chilling effect on every one trying to protect us from harm. If a policeman has to worry about being prosecuted for handcuffing a person, what kind of danger does that put them in if the can't constrain the villain?

    Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean received a pardon from President Bush, but don't expect President Obama to rise to the level of decency and pardon Jesus Diaz. It will be up to each and every one of us to write our representatives in Washington and demand justice for Jesus and his family. He protected us, so now it is time that we protect him.