FBI unsealing indictment could endanger Terry murder suspects
Dead men walking?
The Federal Bureau of Investigation unsealed an indictment in Tucson and offered a $1 million reward “for information leading to the arrest of four fugitives” wanted in connection with the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, the Bureau’s Phoenix Division announced today.
“Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, and Lionel Portillo-Meza are charged with crimes including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, attempted interference with commerce by robbery, use and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, assault on a federal officer, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person,” the FBI press release revealed. “A sixth defendant, Rito Osorio-Arellanes, is charged only with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery.”
The men “had allegedly entered the United States illegally in order to rob drug traffickers of their contraband,” the FBI News Blog disclosed.
This new development implies the executive privilege-claiming White House and Justice Department do not believe this move will compromise ongoing criminal investigations, a reason given for refusing to turn over subpoenaed documents to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that has resulted in a subsequent contempt of Congress vote against Attorney General Eric Holder.
This quite naturally leads to the question of how the FBI can be certain that identifying the fugitives and posting their pictures will not put them in mortal danger of retaliation by the murderous cartels they were allegedly robbing, particularly since revenge killings play a prominent role in underworld public relations and terror maintenance. Noting indictments were handed down by a federal grand jury in November, 2011, and the men are still at large, it would seem fair to ask what information Justice has to to be confident they have not automatically condemned the suspects—and that word is key—to violent deaths, whether they are entrenched in Mexico or hiding in the U.S. from ruthless gangs who ignore borders as a matter of course?
If the unsealing somehow forces the suspects in from the cold, the gamble with their lives will have paid off, but that assumes they are still alive and they are guilty. If they are instead caught first by the cartels, the adage “Dead men tell no tales” will certainly fuel further speculation among those who don’t believe the government has been forthcoming about its role in a deadly operation that has already claimed known and untold lives, an unfortunate but logical consequence of earned mistrust.
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