Head of DEA-Vetted Mexican Police Unit Faces New Drug Charges in U.S.

A top Mexican police official who was the head of a DEA-vetted special unit to fight cartels is in U.S. custody facing drug trafficking charges. The case appears to be connected to the recent trial of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and the arrest of Genaro Garcia Luna, another leading law enforcement figure.

Court documents filed in the Eastern District of New York revealed that U.S. prosecutors are asking for a judge to deny any sort of bond against Ivan Reyes Arzate, claiming his prior role in law enforcement and the severity of charges suggest a high flight risk.

It remains unclear when Reyes Arzate was arrested. In 2018, he pleaded no contest to another drug charge and was serving a 40-month prison sentence. He was expected to be deported later this month after completing his initial sentence, however, that changed when a criminal indictment was filed on Thursday for cocaine trafficking charges. A letter filed by prosecutors describes Reyes Arzate as the commander of Mexico’s Federal Police Sensitive Investigations Unit who used the position to help the Sinaloa and Beltran Leyva Cartels in exchange for hefty bribes. Reyes Arzate allegedly leaked intelligence to drug kingpins as well.

Court documents state that Mexico’s SIU was made up of police officers vetted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. They also received training in Quantico, Virginia.

According to prosecutors, “the defendant was the principal point of contact for information sharing between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement personnel assigned to the SIU,” the document revealed. “He routinely had contact with and worked collaboratively with DEA agents in Mexico City.”

During his role as the SIU commander, Reyes Arzate worked with a criminal organization that operates between South America to several U.S. cities known as “El Seguimiento 39.” The relatively new organization reportedly cooperates with several Mexican cartels, including the Sinaloa, Beltran Leyva, Los Zetas, and the Gulf.

The charges against Reyes Arzate come one month after U.S. authorities arrested Genaro Garcia Luna, Mexico’s former top law enforcement official. Garcia Luna oversaw the country’s entire Federal Police apparatus–reporting directly to the former president.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.