A retired high-ranking Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official from the Obama administration, who, ironically, oversaw money laundering cases, has been snared in a sting for allegedly agreeing to launder millions for the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), one of Mexico’s largest drug cartels.
(Video Credit: Real America’s Voice)
Snared in a sting operation
Campo, 61, was the deputy chief of financial operations for the DEA under Obama. In 2016, he retired after 25 years on the job and had numerous high-level security clearances… so much for vetting. Clearances are renewed by the way, “they require periodic reinvestigations (renewals) through processes like the new Continuous Evaluation (CE) program to maintain eligibility for access to classified information, typically occurring every 5 years for Top Secret/SCI and 10 years for Secret, though the system is moving toward constant monitoring.” They are not a one-off deal. If he got caught in this sting, it is most likely not the first time that Campo played on the other side of the fence.
From Patch:
Campo is the founder of Global Financial Consultants, which provides in-depth financial consulting services to financial institutions, according to his biography on the company’s website. In that role, he attends the quarterly meetings of the board of directors of the Electronic Warfare Associates. He also holds a security clearance.
Prior to founding CFC in 2016, Campo had a 25-year career as a DEA special agent and was appointed in February 2013 to serve as deputy chief of the Office of Financial Operations. In that role, he oversaw more than $17 million in DEA funding and was responsible for worldwide money laundering operations, according to his bio.
Campo also represented the DEA before Congress, the banking industry, money service businesses, as well as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Office of Foreign Asset Control, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Treasury, the National Security Council, his bio said.
Indicted for narcoterrorism
An unsealed 15-page indictment accused Campo and his accomplice, 75-year-old Robert Sensi, of attempting to launder $12 million to the cartel, which controls a large portion of the drug trade throughout the United States. They also specialize in human smuggling over the border.
The two were charged on Friday, but the story garnered very little attention in the media for some reason:
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), Terrance C. Cole, announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging PAUL CAMPO and ROBERT SENSI with narcoterrorism, terrorism, narcotics distribution, and money laundering charges. CAMPO and SENSI were arrested yesterday afternoon in New York. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe.
Following President Trump’s first election in 2016, Campo joined many leftist federal employees who chose to leave their posts rather than wait around to be fired.
Laundering millions for the drug cartel
Federal prosecutors contend that Campo and Sensi began meeting with a confidential source whom they believed was a member of the cartel back in late 2024. In later meetings, the dynamic duo agreed to launder approximately $12 million worth of CING narcotics.
A press release from the Justice Department goes on to explain how Campo and Sensi also advised on weaponry:
SENSI told CS-1 that he had a friend who used to be in charge of DEA’s financial operations who could assist CJNG by laundering narcotics proceeds and providing CS-1 with sensitive DEA information about sources and investigations.
After these initial meetings, CAMPO and SENSI together met with CS-1 on several occasions. During these conversations, CAMPO and SENSI agreed to launder money for CS‑1 by, among other things, converting cash into cryptocurrency and making investments in real estate. CAMPO and SENSI further advised CS-1 about fentanyl production and explored procuring commercial drones and military-grade weapons and equipment for CJNG, including AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, M4 carbines, M16 rifles, grenade launchers, and rocket-propelled grenades. As part of these discussions, CAMPO and SENSI often boasted about and relied heavily on CAMPO’s prior federal law enforcement experience and expertise regarding financial investigations and drug cartels.
Regarding the drones, in one meeting, CS‑1 explained to CAMPO, “what we do with the drones, we put explosives and we just send it over there, boom”; in another conversation, CS‑1 asked SENSI how much C-4 explosive the drones could carry, to which SENSI responded, in sum and substance, approximately six kilograms, which is enough to “blow up the whole f—— . . . I don’t want to say.”
The New York Post reported, “They also paid for about 200 kilograms of cocaine, with the understanding it would be sold for $5 million as part of drug sales, including in New York City, with Campo and Sensi getting a cut of the profits, law enforcement alleged.”
After the first drop in Charlotte, North Carolina, the confidential source said to Sensi, ‘Welcome to the f*cking cartel,’” according to the indictment.
So, drug running, gun running, narcoterrorism, and money laundering. It makes a hideous joke out of Operation Fast and Furious. These actions are not only criminal… since the agreements were made with what they thought were declared foreign terrorist entities, they also smack of treason.
Blasted for allegedly betraying the DEA and the United States
“As alleged, Paul Campo and Robert Sensi conspired to assist CJNG, one of the most notorious Mexican cartels that is responsible for countless deaths through violence and drug trafficking in the United States and Mexico,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated.
“As part of that support, the defendants laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars they believed to be CJNG drug proceeds, agreed to launder millions more, and even agreed to use their financial expertise to facilitate cocaine trafficking right here in New York City. By participating in this scheme, Campo betrayed the mission he was entrusted with pursuing for his 25-year career with the DEA. CJNG is a violent and corrupting criminal enterprise that New Yorkers want broken. I commend the extraordinary efforts of the DEA in aggressively pursuing CJNG and those who support their deadly and corrupt efforts, no matter who they may be,” he added.
“The indictment of former Special Agent Paul Campo sends a powerful message: those who betray the public trust—past or present—will be held to account to the fullest extent of the law,” said DEA Administrator Terrance C. Cole.
“The alleged conduct occurred after he left DEA and was unrelated to his official duties here, but any former agent who chooses to engage in criminal activity dishonors the men and women who serve with integrity and undermines the public’s confidence in law enforcement. We will not look the other way simply because someone once wore this badge. There is no tolerance and no excuse for this kind of betrayal,” he asserted.
Both men face life in prison
From the press release: “CAMPO, 61, of Oakton, Virginia, and SENSI, 75, of Boca Raton, Florida, are each charged with one count of conspiring to commit narcoterrorism, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; one count of conspiring to provide material support and resources to CJNG, a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.”
Evidence includes hours of recordings of Campo and Sensi speaking with the informant, along with cellphone location data, emails, and surveillance images, Assistant U.S. Attorney Varun Gumaste told the court on Friday.
DEA agents swarmed Campo’s home Thursday afternoon in Oakton, retrieving evidence.
Both men pleaded not guilty and are being detained.
