DEA Station Chief In Mexico City Removed For Links To Capo Lawyers

Mexico City’s DEA station chief appears to be compromised after several photos of him surfaced partying with Drug Cartel capo’s lawyers.

Mexico City’s DEA station chief appears to be compromised after several photos of him surfaced partying with Drug Cartel capo’s lawyers.

Context – Intelligence Agencies Play In Mexico City Too Much

Under multiple Mexican governments, Mexico City has long served as a main operating point for various US intelligence agencies. As a major transit point before entering NAFTA zones and the European Union, Mexico is an important corridor and manufacturing powerhouse for both licit and illicit goods. Therefore, most major superpowers maintain a presence in the region, but none are as formalized and important as the United States presence.

Blockback Over Revelations of

The revelations come as the U.S. and Mexico continue to grapple with a drug war that has left tens of thousands dead and billions of dollars in profits flowing northward. It also highlights a long history of corrupt officials on both sides of the border, from Mexican police officers taking bribes to look the other way to U.S. agents who have been accused of taking money from traffickers or even working for them.


From AP: “Some agents complained about his near-obsession with capturing Rafael Caro Quintero, the infamous drug lord behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985, saying Palmeri prioritized that over the agency’s less-flashy efforts to stem the flow of Chinese precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl. Quintero was finally taken into custody last summer, months after the DEA recalled Palmeri to Washington. Chris Landau, who oversaw Palmeri as U.S. ambassador to Mexico during the Trump administration, said that singular focus on Quintero and other such headline-grabbing arrests is characteristic of the DEA’s broader failings in the drug war.”

The DEA has long been one of the most important law enforcement agencies in Mexico, but its influence has waned in recent years as the country’s new president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has sought to reduce foreign involvement in his nation’s affairs and focus more on domestic solutions. Palmeri’s case is particularly embarrassing for the agency because it comes at a time when cooperation between Mexico and the United States is at its lowest point in decades. Even with Biden’s election, the aftermath of President Donald Trump threatening tariffs over immigration issues and Lopez Obrador pushing back against U.S.-backed anti-drug efforts colors the situation.

The DEA declined to comment on Palmeri’s case beyond confirming his departure last year, citing personnel privacy laws. But documents obtained by AP show he was removed after an internal investigation found he had “engaged in inappropriate contact with attorneys representing known narcotraffickers” while vacationing in Miami last summer.

Palmeri had also been accused of using government funds for personal expenses and failing to properly manage agents during the pandemic, according to two separate investigations conducted by DEA’s Office of Professional Responsibility and Office of Security Programs that were obtained by AP through public records requests. The reports paint a picture of an agency struggling to maintain its integrity amid deteriorating relations between Washington and Mexico City — a situation that could be further complicated if Palmeri decides to challenge his removal from office or seek damages from his former employer.

Past Presence of Intelligence Agencies in Mexico City

During the Enrique Pena Nieto administration, Mexico City began to function as a central observation point for even the NSA, which led to many reports (some linked to leaks) pointing out the vast intelligence apparatus in the region. This point has not been lost on drug traffickers who have sough to infiltrate in as many ways possible to maintain an edge on law enforcement and drug trafficking competitors.