It is getting harder each week to keep track of the scandals coming out of Biden’s law enforcement agencies, but this one is in a league of its own. A former top level official at the DEA, someone trusted with tackling cartels and dismantling drug networks, has now been arrested for allegedly trying to work with one of the most violent cartels on earth. You truly cannot script something this outrageous.
Paul Campo, who spent nearly 25 years at the DEA and rose to deputy chief of the agency’s Office of Financial Operations, was indicted on charges that accuse him of plotting to traffic cocaine and launder millions of dollars for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, better known as CJNG. This is the same cartel the State Department designated as a foreign terrorist organization earlier this year. CNN summarized it by reporting that Campo and associate Robert Sensi were accused of converting cash into cryptocurrency to buy “220 kilograms of cocaine, worth $5 million,” as well as allegedly agreeing to “launder at least $12 million” for the cartel.
Campo pleaded not guilty and was detained, but the indictment paints a picture so reckless it is stunning anyone trusted this guy with a badge. According to prosecutors, Campo and Sensi met with what they thought was a cartel representative, who was actually a government source. The indictment says that during a March meeting in New York, the pair talked about smuggling cash, hiding funds in real estate, and moving money overseas. Campo even showed his old DEA badge, bragging that he helped clients “get their money back.”
The New York Post added another layer, saying Campo and Sensi “allegedly offered to launder up to $12 million” and actually laundered $750,000 that, fortunately, went straight into the hands of the U.S. government because of the sting operation. Prosecutors also allege the two men arranged payment for roughly 200 kilograms of cocaine, expecting it to be sold for $5 million in cities like New York, with a nice cut going into their own pockets.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton did not hold back, saying, “By participating in this scheme, Campo betrayed the mission he was entrusted with pursuing for his 25-year career with the DEA.” He also made it clear how serious this was, saying CJNG is a criminal enterprise “that New Yorkers want broken.”
Campo and Sensi now face charges of narcoterrorism, drug trafficking conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and providing material support to a terrorist organization. If convicted on the most serious count, they could spend the rest of their lives in federal prison.
When even the DEA starts producing cartel collaborators, you get a clear picture of how badly the Biden administration has lost control of the institutions that are supposed to protect this country.
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