The Last Narc (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - Última Parte - aka 'MAX GOMEZ' - full transcript
(indistinct chatter)
My name is Gene Hasenfus.
Where are you from?
Marinette, Wisconsin.
Can you tell us
how you came to be here?
I was shot out of the sky.
REPORTER: A Wisconsin man
has been the focus
of international news
this week.
45-year-old Eugene Hasenfus
of Marinette
was captured in Nicaragua after
his cargo plane was shot down.
Hasenfus said his mission
was directed by the CIA,
but US officials say
the flights were
privately directed.
There must be no Soviet
beachhead in Central America.
There is no doubt that
the President wanted the policy
of support for the Nicaraguan
resistance pursued,
and I did so to the very
best of my abilities.
Because there's
kind of nagging away
that I knew something
about an operation
with these Contras and all,
which isn't true.
Now, do I support
the Contras? You bet.
There are notations to
"conversations with VP,"
"met with VP."
MAN: "Calls from VP,"
"Felix talking about VP."
Things like that.
There's lots of
other references.
Good afternoon,
Mr. Rodriguez.
Your true name is
Felix Rodriguez, correct?
That is correct, sir.
And you have also
been known
by the name
of Max Gomez, correct?
Yes, sir.
BERRELLEZ: Felix Rodriguez
was a CIA operative.
He interrogated Kiki Camarena
and was there at the scene
where Kiki was killed.
♪♪
NARRATOR: While
Kiki Camarena investigated
the Guadalajara Cartel
in the early 1980s,
the CIA waged a secret war
that led to the scandal
called Iran-Contra.
It was in Nicaragua,
where a Communist regime was
under siege by the Contras.
A guerrilla army, funded,
armed, and trained by the CIA.
REAGAN: Until these men
are successful
in their freedom struggle,
there will be no peace
in Central America.
NARRATOR:
In 1984, one year before
Camarena was murdered,
the US Congress cut off
funding to the Contras,
and passed a law
banning the CIA
from backing
the anti-communist rebels.
In response, CIA and National
Security Council officials
cooked up new,
covert ways to get money
and guns to the Contras.
Senate hearings
and media investigations
later alleged
that CIA operatives
smuggled tons of cocaine
into the US
to fund the illegal war
in Nicaragua.
But until now,
it's remained a mystery
how the war on communism
and the war on drugs
collided to make a martyr
of Kiki Camarena.
BERRELLEZ:
During the investigation,
the name of Max Gomez,
a Cuban, kept coming up.
So, I do photo lineups,
10 pictures of Hispanic males,
and included
Ismael Felix Rodriguez.
And I asked René,
"Do you see anybody here
that interrogated
Kiki Camarena?"
And he goes,
"Yeah, this guy right here,
I told you about him,
Max Gomez."
I go to Godoy with
the same photo lineup.
I says, "Who do you see here
that was involved in
pre-abduction meetings,
and might've been involved
in picking up Kiki?"
"Max Gomez,
this guy right here,
the guy that
I've heard on the tapes
interrogating Kiki Camarena."
Boom.
I go to Ramon Lira.
"Who do you see
that you recognize here
was at Lope de Vega?"
He says, "Ismael Felix
Rodriguez right there,
I told you about him,
that's him."
I identified him.
I go to my people and I says,
"Run this guy all over!"
And he lit up
like a Christmas tree.
I mean, this guy
is all over the place.
HOLM: Felix Rodriguez
worked for the CIA.
He was on the hunt
for Che Guevara in Bolivia
when they tracked him down
and the Bolivian army
killed him.
Then, he was assigned
to Operation Phoenix in Vietnam
where they identified
and assassinated
Vietcong commanders.
The guy's a legend.
REPORTER:
Felix Rodriguez was
born in Cuba in 1941
into a life of
comfort and privilege.
Early on he was fascinated
by guns and the military.
But when
Fidel Castro overthrew
the US-backed Bautista
regime in 1959,
Rodriguez became obsessed
with just one goal,
to liberate Cuba
from communism.
How did the CIA get to you?
Well, I got to them.
BERRELLEZ:
Felix Rodriguez participated
in the Bay of Pigs.
And by the way, he's very
close to old man Bush.
MIKE WALLACE:
Rodriguez says he first
went to Salvador in 1985
on his own initiative
as a private citizen
to help the Salvadorians
in their fight against
the Communists.
Just months after
arriving in Salvador,
Rodriguez says he received
a letter from Oliver North,
whom he had met in Washington,
a letter that began,
"Dear Felix, after reading
this letter, please destroy it."
North went on
to recruit Rodriguez
into managing the illegal
Contra resupply operation
headquartered at
the Ilopango Airbase
outside San Salvador.
Felix Rodriguez was an
experienced interrogator.
What business did he have
interrogating DEA Agent
Enrique Camarena?
I have another
question, sir.
You've been in that part
of the world for a long time.
Were you aware of any
drugs being transported
out of Central America
into the United States?
No, sir.
Never heard of that?
Well, I have heard of that,
but direct knowledge of it,
I haven't,
or participation
or any type of that thing.
Did you hear of
any activity by those
contracted by Americans?
What I have seen
in the papers, sir.
Other than that,
you're not aware of it.
No, sir.
BERRELLEZ:
I went to Godoy and said,
"Where have you seen this guy
Max Gomez/Felix Rodriguez?"
And he said,
"Well, one time,
"we were sent by Fonseca
to the airport,
"and we met with this guy
Max Gomez/Felix Rodriguez.
And he delivered a whole
bunch of weapons to us."
Not only did I see Max Gomez
at the airport,
I also saw him in safe houses
taking money in bags,
narco-dollars,
blood money,
death money...
Blood money.
BERRELLEZ:
He was delivering weapons
to Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo?
"Definitely, yes he was."
And I went to Ramon Lira.
"Ramon, tell me about this guy
Felix Rodriguez, who is he?"
"He's a CIA guy,
I told you already.
He would bring weapons
to Fonseca."
This was in mid-1984,
when he delivered a shipment
of AK-47s and hand grenades
to a house owned by
Ernesto Fonseca,
located down
Mar Marmara Street.
At one point, Fonseca and
Felix Rodriguez disappeared.
They went to talk
inside a room.
After a while,
Felix Rodriguez came out of
the room with a suitcase.
The suitcase
wasn't full of clothes.
It was packed with money.
BERRELLEZ:
Blew my mind.
I said, what am I
dealing with here?
This is not
the Camarena case
that I thought I was
supposed to be investigating.
It seems like our own
government's involved,
the CIA's involved,
the DFS is involved.
Then, I'm really now
getting like worried
about this investigation,
where am I going
with this stuff?
I kept focusing in
on Max Gomez.
And I asked, "Rene,
where did you see this guy?"
LOPEZ:
I saw him on three occasions.
When the kidnapping
of Kiki was planned.
He was at
the Hotel Fiesta Americana
and at the Hyatt Hotel.
GODOY:
At the Hyatt Hotel,
in another meeting,
I also heard
the plans being made.
They wanted to kidnap
a DEA agent.
I saw Felix Rodriguez again
on February 6th, 1985,
in a house owned by
Rafael Caro Quintero,
located on Hidalgo Avenue.
Felix Rodriguez was there,
Felix Gallardo was there.
Caro Quintero was there.
Manuel Bartlett Diaz
was there.
General Arevalo Gardoqui
was there.
General Vinicio
Santoyo Feria was there.
It was a meeting of
the cartel leaders.
What a coincidence
this meeting happened
the night before
the kidnapping, torture
and murder of Camarena.
The top Narco leaders
held a meeting,
along with politicians,
CIA, Mexican Army.
Call it whatever you want.
What a coincidence this
took place one day before
the capture, torture,
and death of Camarena.
I then went back
to Rene and I said,
"Where else did you see this
guy, Rodriguez, the CIA guy?"
"I also saw him
at Rancho Veracruz."
LOPEZ:
We went to the ranch
in Veracruz,
we flew with Ernesto Fonseca
on his jet.
When we landed at the ranch,
I saw a lot of people there.
I was really impressed.
I'd never seen anything
like it before.
So many weapons,
so many drugs.
Especially cocaine.
Some 10, 15 tons.
They were in big packages.
I'd seen a lot of
marijuana before.
But this was cocaine,
weapons, money.
And a lot of important people,
a lot of the big shots.
It was a very big ranch.
And the air strip, well,
it was very professional.
Even with workers
who directed planes
like at the airport.
INTERVIEWER: And what did they
explain to you about the ranch?
No, no, they didn't
give you any explanation.
You were never
given an explanation.
I was just a bodyguard.
Of course, you could
see everything there.
INTERVIEWER:
And who owned the ranch?
That was
Caro Quintero's ranch.
INTERVIEWER: And what were they
loading or unloading
from the planes?
Well, when we arrived
at the ranch,
the cocaine
was already there.
They were unloading
weapons from a plane.
They finished
unloading the weapons
and started to
load the drugs.
BERRELLEZ:
"What else did you see there?"
"Well, we saw
military operations,
people training there,
"shooting fields
and stuff like that.
"And there was a big airstrip
with American
government planes."
LIRA:
They would not stop asking
him the same questions.
What had he found out
about the CIA,
what investigations
he had into the CIA,
the nexus of the CIA
with drug trafficking,
and what he knew about
the relationship
between the Mexican government,
the CIA, and the Narcos.
MAN:
I've been spending some time
looking at the numbers here
of the amount of aid
that the Contras were getting
at various times...
...and I come to the conclusion
that we're missing something.
That there's got to be
another source of funding
for the Contras...
Well, I don't think
I can help you there.
I don't know of anything else.
I think there's gotta be
some other source of funds
that we -
we meaning this committee -
has not yet uncovered.
BERRELLEZ:
Guillermo González Calderoni,
he worked well with DEA
even though he also received
money from the cartels.
When the president of Mexico
asked for his arrest,
he knew that
he was going to be killed,
so he calls me
and he says, "Hector,"
he says, "You gotta help me.
"They're gonna kill me
in my own country here.
"The president Carlos Salinas
and his brother
are out to get me."
Raul Salinas, the president's
brother in Mexico
was a major drug dealer.
And I says, "Guillermo,
run to the States,
I'll hide you over here."
And I hid him in Palm Springs.
He told me that in favor
of me saving his life,
he was now gonna
save my life.
And I said, "How are you
gonna save my life?"
He says, "Take this advice,"
and first he told me in Spanish.
"Get out of this investigation,
"you're just going to make
yourself stink, brother.
"They don't want you to solve
the Camarena case.
"Your own government
ordered him killed.
"Don't you know that all the
cocaine coming in right now
"is being brought
in by the CIA
"to support that dirty war
in Nicaragua?
Aren't you aware what
happened in Nicaragua?"
I said, "Well, yeah,
the Sandonista government
took over."
"Yeah, and who funded them?
Who supported them?
"The Russians
and the damn Cubans.
"And they overthrew
the Anastasio Somoza government.
"The Contras are his old guard
"and Felix Rodriguez,
and those guys
"are arming them
with drug monies.
You getting the picture?"
He says Kiki Camarena
was picked up
because they thought that
he was about to uncover
the nexus of the CIA, DFS
together with the drug lords
to fund a war
which has not been
authorized in Nicaragua.
The drug traffickers
were used.
INTERVIEWER:
Mike Holm was there?
Mike Holm can corroborate that?
BERRELLEZ:
Yes, he was.
HOLM: Guillermo Calderoni
defected from
the Mexican Federal
Judicial Police,
and Hector linked up
with him in Palm Springs.
He told us about
corruption in Mexico,
and he also told Hector,
"Stop investigating
the murder of Kiki Camarena,
your government killed him."
Hector Berrellez,
he was uncovering stuff
that was unbelievable.
He was putting it on
reports of investigation,
we call them DEA 6's.
BERRELLEZ: DEA 6's
are numbered, catalogued,
they are investigative reports
that you cannot get rid of.
Once you write it in a
DEA 6, it's set in stone,
it cannot be destroyed.
JORDAN:
Being in the senior
executive level,
I know that he was told
to stop putting
the involvement of CIA
operations into DEA 6's.
Now, you put it in a memo,
you can do the Ollie North
shuffle and shred.
INTERVIEWER:
What was the reaction
when he brought back
his findings
with regards to
Felix Rodriguez' presence
at Camarena's torture?
Classified,
don't get involved.
"You don't have
the jurisdiction
to investigate him.
You know,
he's with the CIA."
"So, what do I do about him?"
"Write the memo,
"send him up to
the Inspector General's office.
"They have jurisdiction to
investigate that aspect of it.
You just stay
with the drug lords."
I'm naive, I'm dumb.
I figure "Okay, somebody's
gonna go after him."
I have to tell you,
Hector sent information
back to them in boxes.
He sent them back
to DEA headquarters,
they disappeared.
BERRELLEZ:
So I flew into Washington
and I met with
the Administrator.
Jack Lawn, he asked me
if I could conduct
an extraterritorial rendition.
I looked at him
like I'm kinda dumb,
and I said, "What's that?"
He kinda smiled
and he laughed a little bit,
and he goes "Kidnapping."
"Yeah, I can do that."
And he's kinda really
taking his time,
just looking at me,
not saying much.
I say, "Who do
you want kidnapped?
Who do you want me to get?"
He says, "Can you get
that doctor for me?"
I said, "Humberto Machain?"
MEDRANO:
Humberto Alvarez Machain
was the physician
to the drug cartel.
When the drug cartel leaders
would party,
they'd party hard.
It's not just
a three-hour party,
they would party
every day for a week.
And it was not
uncommon for someone
at one of these
big parties to overdose.
So, they would have
a physician present
to assist that person.
So, fast forward,
Agent Camarena is kidnapped,
he's put in this small room
at the house
at 881 Lope de Vega.
He is beaten,
he is tortured.
And the body
can only take so much,
so he would lapse
into unconsciousness.
Humberto Alvarez Machain
was brought in
and he would administer
medication to Camarena
to revive him so
the torture could continue.
BERRELLEZ:
Jack Lawn asked me,
"Can you get him?"
"Absolutely, I can get him.
He's easy.
Why don't we go after
some bigger fish?"
He said, "No, no, no, no, no,"
just like that.
"How would you do it?"
"How would I do it?
"I'd hire
the Mexicans to do it,
"I'd hire
Comandantes to do it.
"Pay them money the way
the traffickers do.
"Pay them money,
they'll-- they'll--
they'll kidnap the President
for the right amount of money."
"How much would he cost?"
"Not much.
I can probably do it
for about $250,000,
a quarter of a million."
He said, "Okay, do it.
I want it done."
So I started calling
comandantes that I know.
And I know this comandante.
I set up a meeting with him
in El Paso, Texas.
And I said "Can you
kidnap this guy for me?"
He says, "Yeah, absolutely,
I can do it."
"Will you do it for $250,000?"
He said, "Yeah."
About two weeks later
he calls me up and he says,
"Hey," he says, "You know
how we're gonna get him?
He likes
young beautiful girls."
And I said,
"Yeah, let's do that.
Hire a couple
of prostitutes."
They called me and they said,
"Okay, it's all set up."
So, they cordoned off
a whole block
around the clinic
with police roadblock.
The girls went in there.
When the doctor shows up,
signal goes off,
and they go in
and take him
and they put him
in a hotel room.
From the hotel room,
they called me,
and they said, "We got him."
I says, "Get a pilot
and get him to El Paso."
So, when I get there,
I go to the tower
and I tell them,
"DEA, Special Operations.
This plane is going to land,
let him land."
And, of course FAA,
"We can't do that,
and customs and anybody,
we can't--"
I says, "You're gonna do it,
I don't want to hear no shit.
"This is a very
special operation being
planned out of headquarters,
Please guys, don't give me
any crap, let him land."
They said, "Okay, okay,"
and they finally backed off.
So, we're there
at the airport
and the plane lands.
And before it even stopped,
the door opens,
and then I see this big fat guy
being pushed out of the plane.
The plane doesn't even stop.
They close the gate up again
and the plane takes off again.
Good, south to Mexico.
And this guy's
laying there on the tarmac.
So I walk up,
got my DEA badge.
"Dr. Machain,
Hector Berrellez,
pleased to meet you.
Get up!"
REPORTER #1: Ruben Zuno Arce,
brother-in-law to former
Mexican President Echeverria,
was arrested as
a material witness
in San Antonio last week.
DEA agents believe
that Zuno has information
about the murder.
REPORTER #2:
Ruben Zuno Arce has ties
to the drug traffickers
who tortured
and killed Camarena.
REPORTER #1:
Attorneys for Zuno
deny any drug involvement
by their client.
MEDRANO:
Ruben Zuno Arce was the owner
of 881 Lope de Vega.
We had numerous informants
who described Ruben Zuno Arce
as a drug dealer himself
and in bed with the drug cartel.
Ruben Zuno Arce was
the brother-in-law
of one of the former
presidents of Mexico.
That shows you how high
the Zuno Arce tentacles
reached into
the Mexican government.
Let there be
no question about this.
The evidence against
Ruben Zuno Arce
was overwhelming.
JORDAN:
You have a DEA agent,
who was the supervisor
of Kiki Camarena,
testify in federal court
that Zuno Arce
was really not
in the dope business.
I cannot believe that
right there and then--
That son of a bitch
should've been out.
He should not have been
a DEA agent.
This is
Kiki Camarena's supervisor.
And he testifies to the fact
that Ruben Zuno
is not a drug dealer.
We are shocked.
HOLM: He testified
under oath in trial,
and the assistant US attorney
was just apoplectic.
BERRELLEZ: After he testifies,
we take a little break.
While we're in the elevator,
Manny Medrano, the AUSA,
gets his briefcase
and he slams it
on the elevator floor
and he says, "Hector,
take your gun out
and shoot me right now.
"We're gonna lose this case!
"He's supposed
to be on our side.
He's Kiki's supervisor.
He's gonna taint
the whole jury."
Then I've got the CIA
receiving money from Fonseca,
and arming Fonseca
and the drug lords,
and using
Caro Quintero's ranch.
Then I've got my own
government saying,
"Oh, don't report that.
Don't do DEA 6s on this,
that and the other."
There's layers
and layers of this case.
We told Hector,
"They are going to shut down
your investigation..."
He says, "Why?"
"Because the CIA and the DEA
are mixed up in this.
"They are allied
with the Narcos,
and with politicians,
and with
the Mexican government."
But Hector didn't
believe us then.
He told us, "No way."
And he got very pissed off.
"No fucking way bastards,
this is not Mexico!
"Whoever deserves to
fall will fall.
"If the President himself
was involved in this,
I'm going to
fuck him up myself."
I said, "Fine,
if you say so."
REPORTER: The drug war had
Vice President Dan Quayle
in a tense meeting today
with Mexico's President Salinas.
The issue, the abduction
of a Mexican doctor
to stand trial
in the United States
in connection with
the torture and murder
of an American drug agent.
President Salinas
expressed to me
his strong displeasure
with the Dr. Alvarez incident.
There were no DEA agents
in Mexico
who are involved
in this particular situation.
REPORTER: The head of
the DEA said hard feelings
can be smoothed over.
There will be some
report forthcoming
in the next couple of days
that will totally resolve
this matter.
BERRELLEZ: Next thing I know,
I'm under investigation myself.
"DEA agent,
Hector Berrellez, Kidnapper."
"Kidnapped a doctor without
headquarters' knowledge
or authorization.
Wanted man."
I was there,
I was the lead prosecutor.
We did our job,
we followed the rules,
followed the law.
So, anything that happened
in this case,
including kidnappings
of bad guys from
foreign jurisdictions,
was entirely authorized
by the American government.
I want to be very clear
about that,
because that's how
it all came down.
REPORTER:
Dr. Humberto Alvarez Machain
was released last week
by a federal judge.
After the judge's ruling,
Dr. Alvarez broke down
and cried.
He hugged and thanked
his lawyers.
HOLM:
Then the plane
that belonged to
the Mexican Attorney General
flew to Los Angeles
and picked up Machain
and flew him back to Mexico.
BERRELLEZ:
He was treated like a hero.
Next day was a
"David and Goliath"
story in Mexico,
that he beat the case
in the United States.
He beat Goliath.
BERRELLEZ:
So, I was transferred back
to Washington, DC,
and was given
a desk and a phone.
Really no job,
not a real serious job.
They just said,
"This is where you're
going to work in DC.
"We don't want you contacting
any of your sources.
No more contact
with your witnesses."
So here I am.
I don't know
what's gonna happen to me,
and I'm very fearful.
I'm not fearful
that the traffickers
are gonna kill me,
I'm fearful
that my own government
is gonna kill me.
INTERVIEWER:
Did Hector know too much?
JORDAN: Yes. Hector,
to this day...
knows too much.
BERRELLEZ: Before I left
the agency, I was visited by
a supposedly
very high-up CIA official.
And he told me,
"Hector, you see,
"the CIA is not
a law enforcement agency.
"We are not bound
"by Constitutional law.
"Our job is to protect
the United States
from foreign enemies."
And he says, "So listen,
you be a good soldier,
"you don't want to
piss off your own government.
"Just keep all this stuff about
the CIA bringing in drugs,
"the CIA, you know, being
complicit in Kiki's murder
that you allege.
"You can't prove it anyway,
so you might as well
just keep it all quiet.
"Have a nice life,
enjoy your retirement.
"Because, remember,
if you upset this government,
"you still have
that warrant in Mexico.
"You might find yourself
in a Mexican prison,
"and you know you won't
last a week there.
"So if I was you,
mum is the word.
That's all I have
to say to you."
And I said,
"Thank you, have a nice day."
I felt totally betrayed
by the DEA.
Totally, totally betrayed.
There's never been
a war on drugs.
It's all a fallacy.
It's all a facade.
Our politicians get up,
"Oh, we're gonna fight drugs,
we're gonna stop
the drug flows from
coming into the country."
That's not true.
They deal drugs themselves
to support their
black operations,
to support their wars
that are not authorized.
There were many injustices
done to him.
I could really feel
Hector's sorrow.
BERRELLEZ:
You miss your kids,
you miss not being there
for football games,
school events,
they sing at the--
with the choir on Christmas
and you're not there.
Sometimes you'll be gone
seven months out of a year,
and your family was
by themselves in the States.
And, I suffered for it later,
I had one of my sons
take his life.
He shot himself.
My son was destroyed,
my poor Hector.
INTERVIEWER: Do you
blame yourself for that?
-BERRELLEZ: I do.
-INTERVIEWER: Why?
Because his last words
were, "Nobody loves me."
And I felt I didn't show him
enough love as a little boy.
I was absent
in his life too much.
He was a hell of
a baseball player,
and I was never there
for his games.
INTERVIEWER:
What were you saying
about Camarena's ghost?
Give me some time...
It's just...
Enrique Camarena.
He represents
all the spirits behind me.
They are with me every day.
And now I feel them,
with all their energy.
Here, we have him on our side.
And behind him,
there are some souls,
grim souls...
asking the Lord
for divine justice.
(indistinct chatter)
MIKA CAMARENA:
I want to know why
our government let Kiki down.
One of their best agents...
and they let him down.
JORDAN: He was a friend.
And he was a good friend,
he was a working friend,
he was one of the guys
that you would
want on your team
if you were
gonna hit a house.
Kiki was a Marine.
And they did him.
INTERVIEWER:
What are you thinking?
(sighs)
Of the torture.
The guy didn't have a chance.
The betrayal,
which makes it even harder...
to comprehend.
I can't believe it.
I can't believe, uh,
that this really,
really happened.
But it did.
It did,
it did happen.
INTERVIEWER:
Why are you talking now?
BERRELLEZ: Well, now I'm
talking because the warrant
in Mexico has expired.
They can't send me
to Mexico any more.
I'm getting older,
and I've had this little
thorn in my heart,
knowing the truth of
what really happened to Kiki.
I want the world
to know the truth.
It's time.
I don't want to carry this
to the grave with me.
And now, if they kill me,
well, okay,
I've had a great life.
And they might still kill me.
I am not gonna quit this,
I'm gonna be on this crusade
of putting out
the true story 'til I die.
And if I die doing it,
well that's-- that's
what God wanted.
(telephone rings)
(ringing continues)
GODOY:
Camarena wasn't killed
by a single person.
Camarena was killed
by many people.
He was killed by
politicians, police officers,
by the military, by Narcos,
by the CIA.
Enrique Camarena was just
a fucking sacrificial goat.
Just a sacrificial goat.
My name is Gene Hasenfus.
Where are you from?
Marinette, Wisconsin.
Can you tell us
how you came to be here?
I was shot out of the sky.
REPORTER: A Wisconsin man
has been the focus
of international news
this week.
45-year-old Eugene Hasenfus
of Marinette
was captured in Nicaragua after
his cargo plane was shot down.
Hasenfus said his mission
was directed by the CIA,
but US officials say
the flights were
privately directed.
There must be no Soviet
beachhead in Central America.
There is no doubt that
the President wanted the policy
of support for the Nicaraguan
resistance pursued,
and I did so to the very
best of my abilities.
Because there's
kind of nagging away
that I knew something
about an operation
with these Contras and all,
which isn't true.
Now, do I support
the Contras? You bet.
There are notations to
"conversations with VP,"
"met with VP."
MAN: "Calls from VP,"
"Felix talking about VP."
Things like that.
There's lots of
other references.
Good afternoon,
Mr. Rodriguez.
Your true name is
Felix Rodriguez, correct?
That is correct, sir.
And you have also
been known
by the name
of Max Gomez, correct?
Yes, sir.
BERRELLEZ: Felix Rodriguez
was a CIA operative.
He interrogated Kiki Camarena
and was there at the scene
where Kiki was killed.
♪♪
NARRATOR: While
Kiki Camarena investigated
the Guadalajara Cartel
in the early 1980s,
the CIA waged a secret war
that led to the scandal
called Iran-Contra.
It was in Nicaragua,
where a Communist regime was
under siege by the Contras.
A guerrilla army, funded,
armed, and trained by the CIA.
REAGAN: Until these men
are successful
in their freedom struggle,
there will be no peace
in Central America.
NARRATOR:
In 1984, one year before
Camarena was murdered,
the US Congress cut off
funding to the Contras,
and passed a law
banning the CIA
from backing
the anti-communist rebels.
In response, CIA and National
Security Council officials
cooked up new,
covert ways to get money
and guns to the Contras.
Senate hearings
and media investigations
later alleged
that CIA operatives
smuggled tons of cocaine
into the US
to fund the illegal war
in Nicaragua.
But until now,
it's remained a mystery
how the war on communism
and the war on drugs
collided to make a martyr
of Kiki Camarena.
BERRELLEZ:
During the investigation,
the name of Max Gomez,
a Cuban, kept coming up.
So, I do photo lineups,
10 pictures of Hispanic males,
and included
Ismael Felix Rodriguez.
And I asked René,
"Do you see anybody here
that interrogated
Kiki Camarena?"
And he goes,
"Yeah, this guy right here,
I told you about him,
Max Gomez."
I go to Godoy with
the same photo lineup.
I says, "Who do you see here
that was involved in
pre-abduction meetings,
and might've been involved
in picking up Kiki?"
"Max Gomez,
this guy right here,
the guy that
I've heard on the tapes
interrogating Kiki Camarena."
Boom.
I go to Ramon Lira.
"Who do you see
that you recognize here
was at Lope de Vega?"
He says, "Ismael Felix
Rodriguez right there,
I told you about him,
that's him."
I identified him.
I go to my people and I says,
"Run this guy all over!"
And he lit up
like a Christmas tree.
I mean, this guy
is all over the place.
HOLM: Felix Rodriguez
worked for the CIA.
He was on the hunt
for Che Guevara in Bolivia
when they tracked him down
and the Bolivian army
killed him.
Then, he was assigned
to Operation Phoenix in Vietnam
where they identified
and assassinated
Vietcong commanders.
The guy's a legend.
REPORTER:
Felix Rodriguez was
born in Cuba in 1941
into a life of
comfort and privilege.
Early on he was fascinated
by guns and the military.
But when
Fidel Castro overthrew
the US-backed Bautista
regime in 1959,
Rodriguez became obsessed
with just one goal,
to liberate Cuba
from communism.
How did the CIA get to you?
Well, I got to them.
BERRELLEZ:
Felix Rodriguez participated
in the Bay of Pigs.
And by the way, he's very
close to old man Bush.
MIKE WALLACE:
Rodriguez says he first
went to Salvador in 1985
on his own initiative
as a private citizen
to help the Salvadorians
in their fight against
the Communists.
Just months after
arriving in Salvador,
Rodriguez says he received
a letter from Oliver North,
whom he had met in Washington,
a letter that began,
"Dear Felix, after reading
this letter, please destroy it."
North went on
to recruit Rodriguez
into managing the illegal
Contra resupply operation
headquartered at
the Ilopango Airbase
outside San Salvador.
Felix Rodriguez was an
experienced interrogator.
What business did he have
interrogating DEA Agent
Enrique Camarena?
I have another
question, sir.
You've been in that part
of the world for a long time.
Were you aware of any
drugs being transported
out of Central America
into the United States?
No, sir.
Never heard of that?
Well, I have heard of that,
but direct knowledge of it,
I haven't,
or participation
or any type of that thing.
Did you hear of
any activity by those
contracted by Americans?
What I have seen
in the papers, sir.
Other than that,
you're not aware of it.
No, sir.
BERRELLEZ:
I went to Godoy and said,
"Where have you seen this guy
Max Gomez/Felix Rodriguez?"
And he said,
"Well, one time,
"we were sent by Fonseca
to the airport,
"and we met with this guy
Max Gomez/Felix Rodriguez.
And he delivered a whole
bunch of weapons to us."
Not only did I see Max Gomez
at the airport,
I also saw him in safe houses
taking money in bags,
narco-dollars,
blood money,
death money...
Blood money.
BERRELLEZ:
He was delivering weapons
to Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo?
"Definitely, yes he was."
And I went to Ramon Lira.
"Ramon, tell me about this guy
Felix Rodriguez, who is he?"
"He's a CIA guy,
I told you already.
He would bring weapons
to Fonseca."
This was in mid-1984,
when he delivered a shipment
of AK-47s and hand grenades
to a house owned by
Ernesto Fonseca,
located down
Mar Marmara Street.
At one point, Fonseca and
Felix Rodriguez disappeared.
They went to talk
inside a room.
After a while,
Felix Rodriguez came out of
the room with a suitcase.
The suitcase
wasn't full of clothes.
It was packed with money.
BERRELLEZ:
Blew my mind.
I said, what am I
dealing with here?
This is not
the Camarena case
that I thought I was
supposed to be investigating.
It seems like our own
government's involved,
the CIA's involved,
the DFS is involved.
Then, I'm really now
getting like worried
about this investigation,
where am I going
with this stuff?
I kept focusing in
on Max Gomez.
And I asked, "Rene,
where did you see this guy?"
LOPEZ:
I saw him on three occasions.
When the kidnapping
of Kiki was planned.
He was at
the Hotel Fiesta Americana
and at the Hyatt Hotel.
GODOY:
At the Hyatt Hotel,
in another meeting,
I also heard
the plans being made.
They wanted to kidnap
a DEA agent.
I saw Felix Rodriguez again
on February 6th, 1985,
in a house owned by
Rafael Caro Quintero,
located on Hidalgo Avenue.
Felix Rodriguez was there,
Felix Gallardo was there.
Caro Quintero was there.
Manuel Bartlett Diaz
was there.
General Arevalo Gardoqui
was there.
General Vinicio
Santoyo Feria was there.
It was a meeting of
the cartel leaders.
What a coincidence
this meeting happened
the night before
the kidnapping, torture
and murder of Camarena.
The top Narco leaders
held a meeting,
along with politicians,
CIA, Mexican Army.
Call it whatever you want.
What a coincidence this
took place one day before
the capture, torture,
and death of Camarena.
I then went back
to Rene and I said,
"Where else did you see this
guy, Rodriguez, the CIA guy?"
"I also saw him
at Rancho Veracruz."
LOPEZ:
We went to the ranch
in Veracruz,
we flew with Ernesto Fonseca
on his jet.
When we landed at the ranch,
I saw a lot of people there.
I was really impressed.
I'd never seen anything
like it before.
So many weapons,
so many drugs.
Especially cocaine.
Some 10, 15 tons.
They were in big packages.
I'd seen a lot of
marijuana before.
But this was cocaine,
weapons, money.
And a lot of important people,
a lot of the big shots.
It was a very big ranch.
And the air strip, well,
it was very professional.
Even with workers
who directed planes
like at the airport.
INTERVIEWER: And what did they
explain to you about the ranch?
No, no, they didn't
give you any explanation.
You were never
given an explanation.
I was just a bodyguard.
Of course, you could
see everything there.
INTERVIEWER:
And who owned the ranch?
That was
Caro Quintero's ranch.
INTERVIEWER: And what were they
loading or unloading
from the planes?
Well, when we arrived
at the ranch,
the cocaine
was already there.
They were unloading
weapons from a plane.
They finished
unloading the weapons
and started to
load the drugs.
BERRELLEZ:
"What else did you see there?"
"Well, we saw
military operations,
people training there,
"shooting fields
and stuff like that.
"And there was a big airstrip
with American
government planes."
LIRA:
They would not stop asking
him the same questions.
What had he found out
about the CIA,
what investigations
he had into the CIA,
the nexus of the CIA
with drug trafficking,
and what he knew about
the relationship
between the Mexican government,
the CIA, and the Narcos.
MAN:
I've been spending some time
looking at the numbers here
of the amount of aid
that the Contras were getting
at various times...
...and I come to the conclusion
that we're missing something.
That there's got to be
another source of funding
for the Contras...
Well, I don't think
I can help you there.
I don't know of anything else.
I think there's gotta be
some other source of funds
that we -
we meaning this committee -
has not yet uncovered.
BERRELLEZ:
Guillermo González Calderoni,
he worked well with DEA
even though he also received
money from the cartels.
When the president of Mexico
asked for his arrest,
he knew that
he was going to be killed,
so he calls me
and he says, "Hector,"
he says, "You gotta help me.
"They're gonna kill me
in my own country here.
"The president Carlos Salinas
and his brother
are out to get me."
Raul Salinas, the president's
brother in Mexico
was a major drug dealer.
And I says, "Guillermo,
run to the States,
I'll hide you over here."
And I hid him in Palm Springs.
He told me that in favor
of me saving his life,
he was now gonna
save my life.
And I said, "How are you
gonna save my life?"
He says, "Take this advice,"
and first he told me in Spanish.
"Get out of this investigation,
"you're just going to make
yourself stink, brother.
"They don't want you to solve
the Camarena case.
"Your own government
ordered him killed.
"Don't you know that all the
cocaine coming in right now
"is being brought
in by the CIA
"to support that dirty war
in Nicaragua?
Aren't you aware what
happened in Nicaragua?"
I said, "Well, yeah,
the Sandonista government
took over."
"Yeah, and who funded them?
Who supported them?
"The Russians
and the damn Cubans.
"And they overthrew
the Anastasio Somoza government.
"The Contras are his old guard
"and Felix Rodriguez,
and those guys
"are arming them
with drug monies.
You getting the picture?"
He says Kiki Camarena
was picked up
because they thought that
he was about to uncover
the nexus of the CIA, DFS
together with the drug lords
to fund a war
which has not been
authorized in Nicaragua.
The drug traffickers
were used.
INTERVIEWER:
Mike Holm was there?
Mike Holm can corroborate that?
BERRELLEZ:
Yes, he was.
HOLM: Guillermo Calderoni
defected from
the Mexican Federal
Judicial Police,
and Hector linked up
with him in Palm Springs.
He told us about
corruption in Mexico,
and he also told Hector,
"Stop investigating
the murder of Kiki Camarena,
your government killed him."
Hector Berrellez,
he was uncovering stuff
that was unbelievable.
He was putting it on
reports of investigation,
we call them DEA 6's.
BERRELLEZ: DEA 6's
are numbered, catalogued,
they are investigative reports
that you cannot get rid of.
Once you write it in a
DEA 6, it's set in stone,
it cannot be destroyed.
JORDAN:
Being in the senior
executive level,
I know that he was told
to stop putting
the involvement of CIA
operations into DEA 6's.
Now, you put it in a memo,
you can do the Ollie North
shuffle and shred.
INTERVIEWER:
What was the reaction
when he brought back
his findings
with regards to
Felix Rodriguez' presence
at Camarena's torture?
Classified,
don't get involved.
"You don't have
the jurisdiction
to investigate him.
You know,
he's with the CIA."
"So, what do I do about him?"
"Write the memo,
"send him up to
the Inspector General's office.
"They have jurisdiction to
investigate that aspect of it.
You just stay
with the drug lords."
I'm naive, I'm dumb.
I figure "Okay, somebody's
gonna go after him."
I have to tell you,
Hector sent information
back to them in boxes.
He sent them back
to DEA headquarters,
they disappeared.
BERRELLEZ:
So I flew into Washington
and I met with
the Administrator.
Jack Lawn, he asked me
if I could conduct
an extraterritorial rendition.
I looked at him
like I'm kinda dumb,
and I said, "What's that?"
He kinda smiled
and he laughed a little bit,
and he goes "Kidnapping."
"Yeah, I can do that."
And he's kinda really
taking his time,
just looking at me,
not saying much.
I say, "Who do
you want kidnapped?
Who do you want me to get?"
He says, "Can you get
that doctor for me?"
I said, "Humberto Machain?"
MEDRANO:
Humberto Alvarez Machain
was the physician
to the drug cartel.
When the drug cartel leaders
would party,
they'd party hard.
It's not just
a three-hour party,
they would party
every day for a week.
And it was not
uncommon for someone
at one of these
big parties to overdose.
So, they would have
a physician present
to assist that person.
So, fast forward,
Agent Camarena is kidnapped,
he's put in this small room
at the house
at 881 Lope de Vega.
He is beaten,
he is tortured.
And the body
can only take so much,
so he would lapse
into unconsciousness.
Humberto Alvarez Machain
was brought in
and he would administer
medication to Camarena
to revive him so
the torture could continue.
BERRELLEZ:
Jack Lawn asked me,
"Can you get him?"
"Absolutely, I can get him.
He's easy.
Why don't we go after
some bigger fish?"
He said, "No, no, no, no, no,"
just like that.
"How would you do it?"
"How would I do it?
"I'd hire
the Mexicans to do it,
"I'd hire
Comandantes to do it.
"Pay them money the way
the traffickers do.
"Pay them money,
they'll-- they'll--
they'll kidnap the President
for the right amount of money."
"How much would he cost?"
"Not much.
I can probably do it
for about $250,000,
a quarter of a million."
He said, "Okay, do it.
I want it done."
So I started calling
comandantes that I know.
And I know this comandante.
I set up a meeting with him
in El Paso, Texas.
And I said "Can you
kidnap this guy for me?"
He says, "Yeah, absolutely,
I can do it."
"Will you do it for $250,000?"
He said, "Yeah."
About two weeks later
he calls me up and he says,
"Hey," he says, "You know
how we're gonna get him?
He likes
young beautiful girls."
And I said,
"Yeah, let's do that.
Hire a couple
of prostitutes."
They called me and they said,
"Okay, it's all set up."
So, they cordoned off
a whole block
around the clinic
with police roadblock.
The girls went in there.
When the doctor shows up,
signal goes off,
and they go in
and take him
and they put him
in a hotel room.
From the hotel room,
they called me,
and they said, "We got him."
I says, "Get a pilot
and get him to El Paso."
So, when I get there,
I go to the tower
and I tell them,
"DEA, Special Operations.
This plane is going to land,
let him land."
And, of course FAA,
"We can't do that,
and customs and anybody,
we can't--"
I says, "You're gonna do it,
I don't want to hear no shit.
"This is a very
special operation being
planned out of headquarters,
Please guys, don't give me
any crap, let him land."
They said, "Okay, okay,"
and they finally backed off.
So, we're there
at the airport
and the plane lands.
And before it even stopped,
the door opens,
and then I see this big fat guy
being pushed out of the plane.
The plane doesn't even stop.
They close the gate up again
and the plane takes off again.
Good, south to Mexico.
And this guy's
laying there on the tarmac.
So I walk up,
got my DEA badge.
"Dr. Machain,
Hector Berrellez,
pleased to meet you.
Get up!"
REPORTER #1: Ruben Zuno Arce,
brother-in-law to former
Mexican President Echeverria,
was arrested as
a material witness
in San Antonio last week.
DEA agents believe
that Zuno has information
about the murder.
REPORTER #2:
Ruben Zuno Arce has ties
to the drug traffickers
who tortured
and killed Camarena.
REPORTER #1:
Attorneys for Zuno
deny any drug involvement
by their client.
MEDRANO:
Ruben Zuno Arce was the owner
of 881 Lope de Vega.
We had numerous informants
who described Ruben Zuno Arce
as a drug dealer himself
and in bed with the drug cartel.
Ruben Zuno Arce was
the brother-in-law
of one of the former
presidents of Mexico.
That shows you how high
the Zuno Arce tentacles
reached into
the Mexican government.
Let there be
no question about this.
The evidence against
Ruben Zuno Arce
was overwhelming.
JORDAN:
You have a DEA agent,
who was the supervisor
of Kiki Camarena,
testify in federal court
that Zuno Arce
was really not
in the dope business.
I cannot believe that
right there and then--
That son of a bitch
should've been out.
He should not have been
a DEA agent.
This is
Kiki Camarena's supervisor.
And he testifies to the fact
that Ruben Zuno
is not a drug dealer.
We are shocked.
HOLM: He testified
under oath in trial,
and the assistant US attorney
was just apoplectic.
BERRELLEZ: After he testifies,
we take a little break.
While we're in the elevator,
Manny Medrano, the AUSA,
gets his briefcase
and he slams it
on the elevator floor
and he says, "Hector,
take your gun out
and shoot me right now.
"We're gonna lose this case!
"He's supposed
to be on our side.
He's Kiki's supervisor.
He's gonna taint
the whole jury."
Then I've got the CIA
receiving money from Fonseca,
and arming Fonseca
and the drug lords,
and using
Caro Quintero's ranch.
Then I've got my own
government saying,
"Oh, don't report that.
Don't do DEA 6s on this,
that and the other."
There's layers
and layers of this case.
We told Hector,
"They are going to shut down
your investigation..."
He says, "Why?"
"Because the CIA and the DEA
are mixed up in this.
"They are allied
with the Narcos,
and with politicians,
and with
the Mexican government."
But Hector didn't
believe us then.
He told us, "No way."
And he got very pissed off.
"No fucking way bastards,
this is not Mexico!
"Whoever deserves to
fall will fall.
"If the President himself
was involved in this,
I'm going to
fuck him up myself."
I said, "Fine,
if you say so."
REPORTER: The drug war had
Vice President Dan Quayle
in a tense meeting today
with Mexico's President Salinas.
The issue, the abduction
of a Mexican doctor
to stand trial
in the United States
in connection with
the torture and murder
of an American drug agent.
President Salinas
expressed to me
his strong displeasure
with the Dr. Alvarez incident.
There were no DEA agents
in Mexico
who are involved
in this particular situation.
REPORTER: The head of
the DEA said hard feelings
can be smoothed over.
There will be some
report forthcoming
in the next couple of days
that will totally resolve
this matter.
BERRELLEZ: Next thing I know,
I'm under investigation myself.
"DEA agent,
Hector Berrellez, Kidnapper."
"Kidnapped a doctor without
headquarters' knowledge
or authorization.
Wanted man."
I was there,
I was the lead prosecutor.
We did our job,
we followed the rules,
followed the law.
So, anything that happened
in this case,
including kidnappings
of bad guys from
foreign jurisdictions,
was entirely authorized
by the American government.
I want to be very clear
about that,
because that's how
it all came down.
REPORTER:
Dr. Humberto Alvarez Machain
was released last week
by a federal judge.
After the judge's ruling,
Dr. Alvarez broke down
and cried.
He hugged and thanked
his lawyers.
HOLM:
Then the plane
that belonged to
the Mexican Attorney General
flew to Los Angeles
and picked up Machain
and flew him back to Mexico.
BERRELLEZ:
He was treated like a hero.
Next day was a
"David and Goliath"
story in Mexico,
that he beat the case
in the United States.
He beat Goliath.
BERRELLEZ:
So, I was transferred back
to Washington, DC,
and was given
a desk and a phone.
Really no job,
not a real serious job.
They just said,
"This is where you're
going to work in DC.
"We don't want you contacting
any of your sources.
No more contact
with your witnesses."
So here I am.
I don't know
what's gonna happen to me,
and I'm very fearful.
I'm not fearful
that the traffickers
are gonna kill me,
I'm fearful
that my own government
is gonna kill me.
INTERVIEWER:
Did Hector know too much?
JORDAN: Yes. Hector,
to this day...
knows too much.
BERRELLEZ: Before I left
the agency, I was visited by
a supposedly
very high-up CIA official.
And he told me,
"Hector, you see,
"the CIA is not
a law enforcement agency.
"We are not bound
"by Constitutional law.
"Our job is to protect
the United States
from foreign enemies."
And he says, "So listen,
you be a good soldier,
"you don't want to
piss off your own government.
"Just keep all this stuff about
the CIA bringing in drugs,
"the CIA, you know, being
complicit in Kiki's murder
that you allege.
"You can't prove it anyway,
so you might as well
just keep it all quiet.
"Have a nice life,
enjoy your retirement.
"Because, remember,
if you upset this government,
"you still have
that warrant in Mexico.
"You might find yourself
in a Mexican prison,
"and you know you won't
last a week there.
"So if I was you,
mum is the word.
That's all I have
to say to you."
And I said,
"Thank you, have a nice day."
I felt totally betrayed
by the DEA.
Totally, totally betrayed.
There's never been
a war on drugs.
It's all a fallacy.
It's all a facade.
Our politicians get up,
"Oh, we're gonna fight drugs,
we're gonna stop
the drug flows from
coming into the country."
That's not true.
They deal drugs themselves
to support their
black operations,
to support their wars
that are not authorized.
There were many injustices
done to him.
I could really feel
Hector's sorrow.
BERRELLEZ:
You miss your kids,
you miss not being there
for football games,
school events,
they sing at the--
with the choir on Christmas
and you're not there.
Sometimes you'll be gone
seven months out of a year,
and your family was
by themselves in the States.
And, I suffered for it later,
I had one of my sons
take his life.
He shot himself.
My son was destroyed,
my poor Hector.
INTERVIEWER: Do you
blame yourself for that?
-BERRELLEZ: I do.
-INTERVIEWER: Why?
Because his last words
were, "Nobody loves me."
And I felt I didn't show him
enough love as a little boy.
I was absent
in his life too much.
He was a hell of
a baseball player,
and I was never there
for his games.
INTERVIEWER:
What were you saying
about Camarena's ghost?
Give me some time...
It's just...
Enrique Camarena.
He represents
all the spirits behind me.
They are with me every day.
And now I feel them,
with all their energy.
Here, we have him on our side.
And behind him,
there are some souls,
grim souls...
asking the Lord
for divine justice.
(indistinct chatter)
MIKA CAMARENA:
I want to know why
our government let Kiki down.
One of their best agents...
and they let him down.
JORDAN: He was a friend.
And he was a good friend,
he was a working friend,
he was one of the guys
that you would
want on your team
if you were
gonna hit a house.
Kiki was a Marine.
And they did him.
INTERVIEWER:
What are you thinking?
(sighs)
Of the torture.
The guy didn't have a chance.
The betrayal,
which makes it even harder...
to comprehend.
I can't believe it.
I can't believe, uh,
that this really,
really happened.
But it did.
It did,
it did happen.
INTERVIEWER:
Why are you talking now?
BERRELLEZ: Well, now I'm
talking because the warrant
in Mexico has expired.
They can't send me
to Mexico any more.
I'm getting older,
and I've had this little
thorn in my heart,
knowing the truth of
what really happened to Kiki.
I want the world
to know the truth.
It's time.
I don't want to carry this
to the grave with me.
And now, if they kill me,
well, okay,
I've had a great life.
And they might still kill me.
I am not gonna quit this,
I'm gonna be on this crusade
of putting out
the true story 'til I die.
And if I die doing it,
well that's-- that's
what God wanted.
(telephone rings)
(ringing continues)
GODOY:
Camarena wasn't killed
by a single person.
Camarena was killed
by many people.
He was killed by
politicians, police officers,
by the military, by Narcos,
by the CIA.
Enrique Camarena was just
a fucking sacrificial goat.
Just a sacrificial goat.