Former Border Patrol agent Jesus Diaz was denied bond at a hearing earlier this month, but in an interview with Liberty News Network national correspondent Andy Ramirez, members of the Diaz family spoke out.
Agent Diaz was prosecuted and jailed after the Mexican government filed a complaint alleging that he pulled on the handcuffs of a suspected illegal-immigrant drug smuggler. Two oversight agencies cleared him of wrongdoing, but the U.S. Department of Justice decided to take on the case anyway.
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After a mistrial, Diaz was eventually convicted earlier this year. He could face well over a decade in prison. Because former law enforcement officers are regularly targeted by other inmates, Diaz has been in solitary confinement ever since.
U.S. District Court judge Alia Ludlum refused the request of Diaz to be let out on bond prior to sentencing. His wife, Diana (picture, above), who still works for the Border Patrol, said judge Ludlum denied the motion because, according to the court, her husband is a “danger to the community.”
After the hearing, she shared her thoughts with Ramirez. “I feel like I have my hands tied because there’s really nothing I can do,” she said after talking about how difficult it is to explain to the children what is going on. “I’m trying to stay positive but it’s very hard.”
Diana said she was trying to raise money to hire attorneys for an appeal, which will be filed after the sentence is handed down sometime this summer. She asked people to keep her family in their prayers and said her husband was grateful for the letters he’s been receiving in jail.
Jesus’s brother Luis Diaz, also speaking on behalf of their parents, described the situation as “painful.” Luis said his parents were “taking it rough,” and that friends and extended family were deeply affected as well.
“It’s about politics, and we have no say in any of that,” Luis explained. Ramirez wholeheartedly agreed, saying the Diaz prosecution was not about justice at all.
The conviction is particularly troubling, Ramirez said, because of the precedent it establishes: going after law enforcement officers while letting suspected criminals off the hook with immunity from prosecution.
Ramirez also highlighted the hypocrisy of prosecuting Diaz over an alleged crime that left no trace of injury while the U.S. government’s prison camps around the world have admittedly been torturing prisoners.
“I think this is a travesty — this stinks,” concluded Ramirez. “What needs to happen is the American people need to get involved in this case.” He blasted the “kangaroo court” and suggested contacting members of Congress about the case.
Watch the report below:
Andy Ramirez is the founder and president of the Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council, the next step in advocacy after his previous organization known as Friends of the Border Patrol. Liberty News Network is an affiliated news group of The John Birch Society.
