[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 131 (Monday, September 19, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 REGARDING THE DEATHS OF FIVE DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION SPECIAL 
                    AGENTS DURING OPERATION SNOWCAP

  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, there is a war raging in the streets of 
America and I rise today to pay tribute to five special agents of the 
Drug Enforcement Administration who lost their lives in it.
  From the smallest town to the largest city, law abiding citizens are 
faced with an onslaught of crime that is undermining the very fabric of 
our Nation. Cars are stolen, people are robbed and murdered, even 
children fall victim to the most physical and brutal of crimes. It is a 
sad commentary that a Nation based on the concept of the majesty of law 
has become so lawless.
  In an effort to fight this tide, tens of thousands of valiant men and 
women throughout the United States don uniforms, badges, and guns and 
willingly lay their lives on the line in an effort to make our towns, 
cities, and counties safer places. We know these people well; they are 
a part of our communities. Sadly, these law enforcement officers are 
sometimes killed in the course of their duties, and it is always a 
tragedy when one of these men or women is lost in this war.
  What many of us fail to realize is that crime is no longer just a 
local problem. Crimes often have motivations and ramifications far 
beyond where an illegal act actually occurs. Cars are stolen so that 
they may be resold in another State or nation; credit card scams are 
often international in scope; and street-level American drug dealers 
are just the tail end of a intricate and complicated array of criminals 
who do everything from harvest and process cocoa plants to transporting 
cocaine into the United States and distributing it to dealers. In an 
effort to combat this problem, more and more law enforcement agencies 
are working together to attack crime on an international front.
  In the United States, American law enforcement agencies are taking on 
many new and multinational roles, and one agency that is in the 
forefront of global crime fighting is the Drug Enforcement 
Administration. Special agents from the DEA are stationed throughout 
the world, literally taking the fight against drugs to the source--the 
growers and cartel leaders. Last month, five dedicated agents--Frank 
Fernandez, Jay Seale, Meredith Thompson, Frank Wallace, and Juan Vars--
lost their lives in that fight when their plane crashed into a Peruvian 
jungle.
  These individuals were among the best personnel in the Drug 
Enforcement Administration, and each was handpicked to participate in 
one of the DEA's most effective foreign counterdrug undertakings, 
Operation Snowcap, an operation conceived to take the war on drugs to 
the enemy. While their deaths were untimely, tragic, and a loss to the 
agency and the Nation, those who mourn their passing take solace in the 
fact that these four men and one woman died while making a difference 
in the war on drugs.
  Since the inception of Snowcap 7 years ago, special agents of the DEA 
have worked closely with law enforcement officials in the nations of 
Peru and Bolivia to attack cocaine trafficking organizations and to 
combat the flow of cocaine out of those nations and into the United 
States. These coordinated efforts have not only helped to reduce the 
amount of cocaine originating from this area of South America, but have 
been successful in leading to the arrests of some of the leading 
figures in the seamy world of cocaine production and distribution.
  Snowcap is a showcase operation, not only because it demonstrates how 
well international law enforcement agencies can cooperate, but also, 
because it is an effective way to wage the war on drugs at their 
source. By attacking the cartels and growers where they are strongest, 
in their native lands, we are striking strong blows against these 
predators who are literally undermining the security of the United 
States and the nations of Central and South America. Agents Fernandez, 
Seale, Thompson, Wallace, and Vars knew that, and they willingly 
accepted the risks involved in working in such a hostile and dangerous 
atmosphere so that they could make the streets of America safer and our 
lives more secure.
  Certainly, we all wish that these brave individuals were still with 
us today, but I believe neither their service, nor their deaths, were 
in vain. I think these agents would agree with me that the best way we 
can honor their memory is to continue with the important work being 
accomplished through Operation Snowcap.
  May they rest in peace.

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