DEA Under Fire for Delaying Reports on Partners’ Security Abuses

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The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the main agency investigating organized crime and drug trafficking for the United States government in the region, repeatedly delayed reporting human rights violations by the Latin American security forces it was partnering with, adding to a series of scandals at the world’s most influential anti-drug agency.

The newest findings came from an audit of the DEA’s use of polygraphs to vet potential employees and foreign partners. The probe – carried out by the Office of Inspector General of the DEA’s parent agency, the US Department of Justice – found the DEA violated its own policies by allowing employees, contractors, and foreign partners to participate in DEA operations despite not having successfully completed polygraphs.

SEE ALSO: DEA Criticized for Tame Review of Foreign Operations

In a memorandum published on September 30, the Inspector General noted that some foreign officials had admitted to human rights violations during their DEA polygraphs. But in five cases, the DEA waited weeks or months to report those violations to the State Department, as specified by law, which could mean that the United States is actively supporting foreign individuals and law enforcement units who have engaged in human rights violations, the Inspector General found.

In one case from Central America cited in the Inspector General’s findings, a foreign law enforcement officer admitted to witnessing or participating in “approximately 40 human rights violations,” including suffocating detainees with plastic bags and shocking them with tasers until they passed out or vomited.

In another case from Central America, foreign officers said they waterboarded suspects and beat them with batons at a police station. A South American law enforcement official admitted to assaulting a detained suspect when they were handcuffed to a chair while executing a search warrant with a law enforcement unit that received DEA funding and support.

None of the officers involved in the above instances passed the DEA’s vetting process nor were they recruited to DEA-supported units. But the organization’s failure to notify the State Department of the abuses led to at least one of the officers going on to benefit from training from another US agency, according to the report.

The so-called Leahy Laws have prohibited federal agencies from assisting foreign security forces implicated in human rights violations since 1997. However, since then, US-backed law enforcement has frequently been linked to cases of human rights abuse throughout the region including in Colombia, El Salvador, and Mexico.

A DEA official told the Inspector General that at the time of the incidents, the agency “did not have a policy or formalized procedures” for reporting admissions of potential human rights abuses obtained during DEA-conducted polygraph exams.

The DEA added that it “concurred” with the Inspector General’s findings and had since started to update its policies and training procedures around the world.

InSight Crime Analysis The DEA’s delayed reporting of human rights abuses underscores concerns regarding the agency’s accountability and conduct in Latin America.

The agency is currently overhauling its international operations following the publication in 2023 of a review of its foreign footprint by a former DEA administrator and a former federal prosecutor.

Twelve field offices are slated for closure in a move that the agency claims will help concentrate resources on tackling America’s key drug threats including synthetic drug trafficking by the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (CJNG).

But the review was in part triggered by a series of scandals, including the participation of DEA agents in “sex parties” hosted by criminal groups, and a 2021 corruption case where an agent diverted $9 million in seized money laundering funds to buy international travel, jewelry, and luxury homes in Colombia. The findings by the Office of the Inspector General confirm long-standing concerns that US agencies have collaborated with security forces accused of abuse.

Maureen Meyer, the Vice President for Programs at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), said that the DEA had been slow to respond to previous recommendations related to accountability to human rights and that the latest findings highlighted bigger issues.

“The only consequence for corrupt foreign officials shouldn’t just be a slap on the wrist from the United States and a rejection from US training programs,” said Meyer. “The US should also work with Latin America to make sure these countries can hold their own officials to account.”

SEE ALSO: Colombia, Mexico Police Commanders Partnered with DEA and Drug Groups

The DEA’s reputation took a hit in 2017 after the Office of the Inspector General found that its agents ordered Honduran security forces to shoot unarmed civilians leading to four deaths during a chaotic counter-narcotic operation in the remote municipality of Ahuas. The agency downplayed its responsibility, did not cooperate with US and Honduran attempts to investigate the incident, and tried to mislead Congress, according to the report.

“DEA operations in Latin America have been flagged multiple times,” said Meyer. “It is a complex environment. You need robust oversight and accountability to ensure that the US does not work with corrupt actors, or provide information that leads to horrific crimes.”

Featured Image: Military Police and DEA agents oversee extradition of an alleged member of a drug trafficking group in Honduras. Credit: Honduras Military Police.

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