Focus of kidnapping investigation shifts to unanswered questions

The boy is safe. That's the great news.

But now that 6-year-old Cole Puffinburger is out of harm's way, the multi-agency criminal investigation that swirls around his kidnapping is generating complex questions that don't yet have clear answers.

Puffinburger was kidnapped Wednesday by three men described by Metro officials as "Mexican nationals" bent on recovering a large sum of drug money believed to have been stolen by the child's maternal grandfather, Clemens Fred "Clem" Tinnemeyer, but anonymous law enforcement sources have referred to the men as representatives of a "Mexican drug cartel."

Slim difference, right?

Perhaps.

But when it comes to handicapping our future quality of life in the valley, the distinction could be important.

In America, most methamphetamine is manufactured in and imported from Mexico. In Mexico, meth generates billions in cash profits annually, according to the Congressional Research Service, and is controlled by drug organizations such as the Tijuana, Gulf, Sinaloa and Juarez groups. Some cartels work together in the form of so-called Federation groups. Others fight it out in running gunbattles on the streets of major cities, murdering hundreds of the enemy and the innocent each year. Kidnapping is common in Mexico, but it's considered the height of brazenness in the United States.

Like other members of law enforcement, Las Vegas Drug Enforcement Administration chief Michael Flanagan wouldn't discuss specifics of the investigation, but he offered this observation about the nature of drug cartels.

"I can tell you that, in general, with regard to Mexican drug cartels, when it comes to kidnapping, it's like a business," Flanagan said. "I give you cocaine or meth. You owe me money. You don't pay me, I kill you and your family."

He points to the "over 1,200 people" killed in the past year in Juarez and El Paso, Texas. Just last week, he adds, 50 died in murders linked to the cartels. In 2008, more than 3,800 deaths have been attributed to drug cartel violence, and the organizations are notorious for maintaining hit squads that aren't shy about killing civilians, journalists, police officials and judges.

"Drug trafficking is a crime of violence," he said. "It's a business, it's a cash business. I give you a product; you owe me money. You don't pay me, I have 20 other people out there I supply. I can't let that go. Whether I take something of value, kidnap one of your relatives or kill you, I have to send a message. Otherwise, those 20 other people I supply can get away with not paying me.

"That's the nature of the narcotics business."

And that's what makes the Puffinburger kidnapping sound so typical -- yet different.

Those who know a little about how Mexican drug cartels operate must have been surprised to learn Puffinburger was released unharmed downtown Saturday night. He wasn't taken down to Mexico? They might also be surprised to know the child's mother and fiance weren't tortured by the intruders last Wednesday. Representatives of the cartels aren't known to play so politely with members of a family suspected of ripping off from $8 million to $20 million.

On Monday morning, Metro spokesman Sgt. John Loretto chose his words carefully.

"The department has never identified a Mexican cartel," Loretto said. "We have identified that we believe the suspects could possibly be Mexican nationals."

Not that it's hard to find evidence of the presence in Las Vegas of Mexican drug cartels. Previously published reports have linked the Arrellano Felix and Sonoran groups to Las Vegas, and an October 2007 CRS report for Congress titled "Mexico's Drug Cartels" lists Las Vegas on a map of American cities infiltrated by the organizations. Add to that investigations linking Mexican citizen Zhenli Ye Gon, considered one of the meth world's biggest players, to Strip casinos, and you have plenty of connections between Southern Nevada and south of the border.

Perhaps Flanagan is right when he said, "What's most important is we had a kidnapping of a 6-year-old child, and he's home safe. The other big story is you have federal, state and local law enforcement working together to solve this. This is cooperative law enforcement at its best."

That's a good thing.

If the Puffinburger kidnapping is a sign of increased activity in Las Vegas by the blood-soaked Mexican drug cartels, chances are good law enforcement will be cooperating again very soon.

John L. Smith's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0295.