Reyes sought U.S. help for kidnapped relative

Reyes sought U.S. help for kidnapped relative
By Diana Washington Valdez / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 06/26/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

A plea for help from U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes' office led to a massive international effort to rescue a relative of his who was kidnapped in Juárez, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo.

June 19, an aide to Reyes, D-Texas, contacted the Immigration and Customs Enforcement assistant attache in Mexico to report that a Mexican citizen related to Reyes had been kidnapped, the memo obtained by the El Paso Times and posted on a Web site states.

The effort to rescue the businesswoman, identified as Erika Posselt, included contacting officials in Washington, D.C, the FBI, the Chihuahua State Attorney General's office and Mexican federal authorities.

Reyes declined to comment on the memo or the case.

According to the memo, "a group of armed men kidnapped (Reyes' relative) from the ACCRIPARTS, an auto glass store she owns in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico.

"Additionally, agents learned that the kidnappers had called (her) brother and demanded a ransom of $500,000 (pesos) in exchange for her safe return. The kidnappers stated that (she) would be killed if he (the brother) contacted law enforcement authorities."

The memo addressed to ICE Assistant Secretary Julie Myers in Washington and dated June 23 said Reyes' relative owned the auto glass store in Juárez.

Phil Jordan, former director of the El Paso Intelligence Center, said the ICE document also was posted on the Internet by www.narconews.com.

The memo stated that "On June 19, 2008, the Assistant Attache in Juárez was contacted by a Congressional Aide (CA) for Congressman Silvestre Reyes ... (the aide) advised that (the victim), a Mexican national and relative of Congressman Reyes' wife, had been kidnapped in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico.

"Subsequently, the ICE Assistant Attache (in) Juárez requested and received the full assistance of the ICE SAC (special agent in charge) El Paso office, and coordinated a meeting in El Paso, TX with the Chihuahua State Police to recover the kidnapped victim."

A spokesman for Myers at ICE headquarters in Washington could not be reached for comment.

Former ICE official Miguel Contreras said, "it's a conflict of interest for Congressman Reyes to try to influence the case. He is in a position to affect the funding and others matters involving ICE. Also, if someone at ICE is going to be investigated, the congressman will be biased in favor of ICE."

Jordan said that in his 30 years of law enforcement, he had never seen a member of Congress get involved in helping to investigate a crime against a Mexican citizen in Mexico.

"I'm glad nothing happened to the lady and that it all worked out," Jordan said. "But if you, as a U.S. congressman, will do this for a Mexican citizen, then you'd better be prepared to do it for American citizens who are kidnapped in Mexico. "

Leticia Zamarripa, ICE spokeswoman in El Paso, said the federal law enforcement agency was continuing its investigation and had no comment regarding the memo or the case.

"It is not unusual for ICE to collaborate with Mexican authorities on a variety of cases, such as human smugglings, arms trafficking, fugitive child predators, without regard to nationality," Zamarripa said.

Several years ago, the FBI office in El Paso looked into the disappearance of at least 30 U.S. citizens in Mexico. The cases culminated in the 1999 U.S.-Mexico "mass graves" investigation in Juárez that led to nine bodies buried at four ranches.

Back then, FBI officials said they justified the investigation in Mexico because of the possibility they might find missing U.S. citizens.

According to the recent ICE memo, Posselt was released a couple of days after her kidnappers received a $32,000 ransom. She and another kidnapping victim who paid $56,000 for his release were dropped off in a public location. It was not known if the amounts were in dollars or pesos.

After her release, Posselt refused medical treatment and was allowed to cross the U.S. border "for security reasons," the memo stated.

Wednesday, Juárez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz announced that a special Mexican federal anti-kidnapping team had been sent to Juárez to investigate the recent wave of kidnappings aimed at business people.

In May, unknown persons posted a video on YouTube.com warning business people in Juárez that they would become the next targets in the ongoing violence that has claimed more than 500 lives since January.

Narcosphere, an online Web site that specializes in reporting on drug trafficking, first reported the kidnapping earlier this week.


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