US Consulate Security Officer Arrested On Drug-Trafficking Charges

February 13, 2017

A security officer for the American Consulate in Nogales, Mexico, faces drug-trafficking charges here in Arizona.

According to federal court documents filed in Tucson, on Feb. 7, Santos Guerrero-Davila drove his gold Saturn Outlook up to the port of entry in downtown Nogales.

A Customs and Border Protection drug-detecting dog became suspicious, and Guerrero-Davila was sent to a secondary inspection. He told CBP inspectors that he was a security officer at the consul; something CBP later confirmed. Inspectors found nearly 20 pounds of cocaine stashed in the dashboard.

The criminal complaint states that Guerrero-Davila told investigators he trafficked the cocaine to forgive a 90,000 pesos, about $4,500, debt.

According to a detention order, Gurerrero-Davila is not a U.S. citizen. 

An Embassy spokesperson in Mexico City said in an email, "The U.S. Government takes all allegations of wrongdoing by federal employees, including locally employed staff, seriously. We refer you to law enforcement authorities for further information."

Embassy staff did not say whether Guerrero-Davila was terminated from his position.Consular workers from both sides of the border have been arrested on trafficking charges in previous years.

In 2014, Jose Moreno Serrano, an employee for Mexico's consulate in Yuma, Ariz., was arrested after attempting to traffic nearly 100 pounds of cocaine. Federal records show he'd been watched since 2013.Last month, a U.S. citizen was arrested in Mexico after shooting a U.S. consul employee in Guadalajara.

In 2010, three people with ties to the U.S. Consulate in Ciudád Juárez were shot and killed