Families of missing say Reyes did nothing to help

Families of missing say Reyes did nothing to help
By Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 06/27/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, who said seeking help for a relative kidnapped in Juárez was what he would have done for a constituent, was criticized by family members with missing relatives in Mexico for not doing more to help them.

The co-founder of the International Association of Relatives and Friends of Disappeared Persons questioned on Thursday why Reyes, D-Texas, failed to help Americans whose relatives were kidnapped in Juárez in the same manner his staff intervened in the recent kidnapping of his wife's niece, some members of the International Association of Relatives and Friends of Disappeared Persons said Thursday.

Erika Posselt, a Mexican citizen, was kidnapped and held for ransom last week in Juárez. The effort by Reyes' office's to secure her release led to contacting officials in Washington D.C., the FBI, the Chihuahua State Attorney General's office and Mexican federal authorities, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo.

Jaime Hervella, the association's co-founder, and Patricia Garibay, another member, said it took them a long time to get a meeting with Reyes to discuss their plight, and when he finally agreed to see them, it was only for about 15 minutes.

"Maybe now Reyes understands some of the pain we feel because of what happened to his relative," Hervella said. "The way the U.S. and Mexican authorities moved to find his relative shows how some of us are treated like second-class citizens. Nobody in Mexico or the United States did anything to help us."

Hervella's godson, Saul Sanchez Jr., a U.S. Navy veteran, and his wife Abigail Sanchez, were last seen heading to a Juárez theater in 1996. They left two young children behind.

Reyes said Thursday he could not comment on Posselt's kidnapping because it is an ongoing criminal investigation.

"We did nothing different than any other case that we have been asked by constituents; we took it to law enforcement," he said.

Reyes said he learned of Posselt's kidnapping when his sister-in-law called them to see if Reyes' office could do anything to help.

"Obviously I was concerned about the safety of the lady," Reyes said. "I have never met her."

Earlier this week, officials with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and an ICE memo confirmed Reyes' staff contacted ICE after Posselt, a business owner in Juárez, was reported kidnapped for ransom.

What followed was an international mobilization of U.S. and Mexican law enforcement and other officials on both sides of the border. Reyes' relative was released unharmed later in Juárez after kidnappers collected a ransom.

ICE officials in Washington, D.C., could not be reached for comment Thursday regarding ICE's role into the ongoing investigation of Posselt's kidnapping.

Reyes said the investigation was compromised with the release of the ICE memo, and that the Office of the Inspector General has begun an investigation to find out how it was leaked to the news media.

"The only involvement we had was to report it to the agencies, which we would do, and have done, for any other case. We didn't do anything different here than any other case," he said.

Reyes also said that he reports issues to law enforcement agencies on a regular basis when his office is contacted.

In an e-mail to the El Paso Times, Reyes' office listed how he has been involved in helping to solve the murders of women in Juárez.

The e-mail said Reyes sent letters to former Mexican President Vicente Fox asking him for a comprehensive investigation into the slayings, spoke with FBI officials to encourage the agency to help Mexican authorities, hosted a U.S. congressional delegation investigating the murders, worked with other lawmakers to raise the issue of the killings, sought money to help Mexico with the investigation, and raised the issue several times with the ambassadors of Mexico and the United States.

However, Garibay said Reyes didn't seem interested in her predicament.

"I am very upset. His staff gave us the runaround for a long time before Reyes finally met with us," Garibay said. "Before that, he was always too busy to see us. Then, when we got in to see him, he acted as if he was annoyed and couldn't wait to get the meeting over with."

Her brother, Jorge Garibay, and two other U.S. citizens from El Paso, Eddie Barragan and Mathew Baca, were kidnapped in 1998 from the Kentucky Club on Juárez Avenue.

Witnesses said uniformed city police officers took them, and they have not been seen again.

Hervella's association represents more than 100 families on both sides of the border with relatives who are missing. He and Garibay are Americans who live in Reyes' district.

The FBI previously attributed many of the disappearances that began in the 1990s to the Juárez drug cartel. U.S. authorities estimate more than 50 U.S. citizens have been reported missing in Juárez over the past 15 years.

Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6140.