The Obama administration improperly prosecuted an American Border Patrol agent at the behest of the Mexican government, national correspondent Andy Ramirez of the Liberty News Network said in an exclusive video report. He also had an exclusive interview with the jailed agent’s wife, Diana (picture, left), who lamented the fact that his six children may not have their father around for 10 years.
The story involves U.S. Border Patrol agent Jesus Diaz, Jr., who was charged with mistreating a then-16-year-old illegal-immigrant drug smuggler apprehended at the border. In an effort to locate hidden contraband, Diaz allegedly pulled on the suspect’s handcuffs, prompting the Mexican consulate to complain that excessive force was used.
Two oversight agencies eventually cleared Diaz of wrongdoing. But Internal Affairs — which Ramirez refers to as “Infernal Affairs” — decided to proceed with the case anyway. It was then handed off to U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, an infamous prosecutor who has been in the spotlight before for pursuing border agents Ignacio Ramos and José Compean in other unpopular prosecutions.
“This doesn’t smell right,” said Ramirez. “If this is supposed to pass the smell test, it doesn’t pass it.”
Diaz was eventually charged with several other violations including lying to Internal Affairs investigators. And after a mistrial, he was tried again and finally convicted earlier this year. He could be facing up to 10 years in prison, and has already missed the birth of his youngest child.
His wife was clearly devastated. “He is an outstanding father” and “a great husband,” Diana Diaz, also a Border Patrol agent, told LNN. “Now they won’t have a father for ten years … all because their dad did his job.”
Diana Diaz is still hoping the government will let her husband out on bond until sentencing. But she’s also very worried about his fate in jail, especially since former law-enforcement officers are known to be targeted by other inmates.
“I hope somebody out there sees the travesty that happened to my family and they reach out to help us because it‘s very hard,” she told Ramirez, noting that there had not been much interest in the case yet.
Critics of the prosecution including Ramirez have drawn a parallel between the Diaz prosecution and the now-infamous “witch-hunt” of border agents Ramos and Compean. Those agents were eventually freed by the Bush administration after a massive wave of public pressure.
And Ramirez hopes this case can be resolved favorably as well. “What we have here — as my sources have told me — is clearly a case of the Mexican government starting problems” because they don’t like the Border Patrol, he said. “This case is a disgrace, that they actually expended U.S. taxpayer dollars for a case like this.”
Ramizez also called the case “bogus,” saying it was hard to find words to describe the outrage. And he urged people to do something about it.
“Here we have a case of another foreign-influenced prosecution, just as we’ve had previously under the Bush administration,” Ramirez concluded, telling viewers to contact members of Congress and get active. “These outrages must stop.”
He also said it was time to “clean house” at the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security.
Watch the exclusive report from the Liberty News Network below:
Andy Ramirez is the founder and president of the Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council, as well as founder and president of Friends of the Border Patrol. Liberty News Network is an affiliated news group of The John Birch Society.
