| Photo: TopNews.in |
The police chief of a small Texas town near the Mexican border is facing federal charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possession of marijuana.
Sullivan City Police Chief Hernan Guerra is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms and four counts of possession with intent to distribute between 100 kilos and 1,000 kilos of marijuana, according to the indictment, which was unsealed Thursday, reports Jeremy Roebuck at The Monitor.
Guerra was caught as part of Project Deliverance, a 22-month probe by the U.S. Department of Justice targeting Mexican drug trafficking cartels.
More than 2,000 people in have been arrested so far, including 430 in 16 states on Wednesday, which is when Guerra got a big surprise from FBI agents who raided his office.
Guerra had been police chief of tiny Sullivan City since 2004. He has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of his case, according to Sullivan City Manager Rolando Gonzalez.
| Photo: Action 4 News |
| City Manager Rodolfo Gonzalez: “It gives us a bad name” |
”Things like these happen and we just have to keep on doing our jobs,” Gonzalez said, reports Katie Lopez of ValleyCentral.com. “We have to keep on serving the community.”
“It gives us a bad name,” Gonzalez admitted. “But he (Chief Guerra) is just one individual. He is not the entire organization.”
Gonzalez said as soon as he heard about Guerra’s arrest he immediately appointed investigator Eloy Trevino as interim police chief.
Seized in Wednesday’s raids were more than $5.8 million, 141 weapons and several tons of drugs, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a press conference in Washington, D.C.
“Our aim was not to target just cartel operations, but the networks of individuals across the United States the cartels tap to distribute drugs in our country and smuggle cash and guns out of it,” Holder said.
“This operation has struck a significant blow against the cartels, but make no mistake: we know that as successful as this operation was, it was just one battle in what is an ongoing war,” Holder said.
Funny, I thought Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske said a few months ago that we weren’t calling it a Drug War anymore.
