DEA Agents Killed in Crash Mourned as Anti-Drug Martyrs
WASHINGTON — Five U.S. narcotics enforcement special agents who perished in a plane crash in the Andes Mountains last week were honored Saturday as martyrs to the struggle for a safer America and world.
“They have given their lives so that you and I and all who come after us can live in a safer, better world,†Atty. Gen. Janet Reno told relatives and colleagues after the five flag-draped coffins arrived at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.
“They have given their lives to stop the flood of cocaine into America, the crime, the violence and the wasted lives that come from drug use and drug trafficking,†she said.
A score of Drug Enforcement Administration workers assigned to the Peru operations accompanied the remains aboard an Air Force C-141 transport. They joined Reno, DEA chief Thomas Constantine, FBI Director Louis J. Freeh and several hundred mourners.
The agents were Frank Fernandez Jr., 38, who was on temporary duty from Washington; Jay W. Seale, 31, of Los Angeles; Meredith Thompson, 33, of Miami; Frank S. Wallace Jr., 37, of Houston, and Juan C. Vars, 32, of San Antonio.
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