DEA Agent Murdered in Bogota

I have received the below news from a friend of mine who is a retired DEA agent, and who also previously served in Colombia. El Tiempo (Colombia) has reported that last night, DEA agent James Terry Watson was attacked by a group of men who entered a taxi he was riding in back to his hotel in Bogota and stabbed  and killed him.

http://m.eltiempo.com/colombia/bogota/embajada-de-ee-uu-confirma-asesinato-de-agente-de-la-dea-en-bogota/12886302/1/home

The term, Paseo Millonario in Colombia refers to when a taxi driver actively collaborates in delivering a passenger into the hands of robbers. The article indicates that the clues point to this being such a case. According to the article, Watson was assigned to the Cartagena office, was married to a Colombian woman, and had no children.

Here is the Fox News report just breaking:

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2013/06/21/us-dea-agent-stabbed-to-death-by-robbers-in-colombia/?test=latestnews

Here is the DEA announcement:

DEA ANNOUNCES TRAGIC LOSS OF SPECIAL AGENT IN COLOMBIA

 June 21, 2013 – The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) today announced the tragic loss of Special Agent James “Terry” Watson, who was murdered in what appears to have been a robbery attempt last night in Bogota, Colombia. At the time of his death, Special Agent Watson was assigned to the DEA Cartagena, Colombia office and was on temporary duty in Bogota. Colombian and U.S. authorities are currently investigating.  No further details are available at this time.

“We are all saddened by this devastating loss of a member of the DEA family,” said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. “Terry was a brave and talented DEA Special Agent who served our agency for 13 years. These are the worst days for anyone in law enforcement and we grieve Terry’s loss.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Terry’s wife and family, and we will forever carry his memory in our hearts.”

In addition to serving in Colombia, Special Agent Watson has served in Honolulu, Hawaii and San Juan, Puerto Rico. He also served on three deployments to Afghanistan conducting dangerous counter-narcotics missions as a member of DEA’s FAST program.  Prior to his DEA service, Special Agent Watson worked for the U.S. Marshals Service and served in the United States Army.

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Colombia is still a dangerous place and also for DEA agents stationed there. When I was there with a DEA training team in the 1990s, we were accompanied by bodyguards wherever we went. Over the years, I am aware of two other DEA agents stationed in Colombia who were murdered, as well as two who narrowly escaped a kidnapping and shooting attack  In spite of that, I was impressed with the Colombian people during my visit and still believe that the country is made up of  good and courageous people, many of whom have placed their lives on the line to fight the criminal elements in their society.


Whether active duty or retired, the killing of a DEA agent hits us all very hard.