Watchdog criticizes DEA for failing to report simulated drowning and torture by its Latin American partners

On October 2, 2024By Rgal Nv

MIAMI (AP) — A federal government watchdog criticizes the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for failing to timely report human rights abuses by America’s law enforcement partners Latina who admitted to simulating, asphyxiating and torturing crime suspects.

The management advisory memorandum released Tuesday by the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General focuses on the DEA’s obligations under the so-called Leahy Act, which prohibits the United States from providing foreign aid to security forces that violate human rights.

Foreign police officers and units working closely with the DEA on the front lines of the war on drugs must undergo screening to comply with the law, one of the most important tools the United States has to promote respect for human rights within security forces.

The Inspector General, as part of an ongoing audit of the DEA’s use of polygraph examinations as part of the vetting process, discovered five instances in which the DEA failed to notify the State Department potential violations noted last year.

In one case, three officers from an unidentified Central American country admitted to simulated drowning and placing plastic bags over suspects’ heads to obtain information, the watchdog said. Another, also from Central America, and who had already been authorized to receive training from another US federal agency, admitted to using a Taser until the suspects passed out or vomited. Finally, an officer in a DEA-run unit in a South American country admitted to beating a detained suspect while he was handcuffed to a chair.

In all five cases, the DEA waited for the inspector general to raise concerns – in one case nearly nine months – before reporting its findings to the State Department.

The DEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But as part of the audit, it told the inspector general that at the time of the incidents it did not have policies, procedures and training in place to ensure potential violators were brought to justice. attention of the Department of State. It has since updated its policies to train officers on Leahy Law guidelines and ensure violators are identified in a timely manner.

Last week, the inspector general released a 49-page report detailing how the DEA hired nearly 300 special agents and research analysts in recent years who either failed to pass a required polygraph exam during the screening process. integration, or have provided disqualifying information during the examination.

Although polygraph examinations are generally not admissible in legal proceedings, they are frequently used by federal law enforcement agencies and for national security clearances.

The DEA has long resisted federal law enforcement by not requiring applicants to take a lie detector test before being hired. But in 2019, after a series of overseas scandals, including revelations that a once-star agent in Colombia who conspired with cartels was hired despite showing signs of deception on a lie detector test, the company has tightened its procedures.