A resolution honoring the life of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena.

Mr. President, I rise today to submit a resolution to commemorate the outstanding life and tragic but courageous death of Enrique ``Kiki'' Camarena, a Special Agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Enrique grew from a boy in the small town of Mexicali in Baja California, Mexico to a man as a United States Marine. During his two year tour as a Legal Clerk with the Marine Corps in San Diego, Enrique received the National Defense Service Medal. It was during this time that Enrique first demonstrated his dedication to the United States.

Following his honorable discharge from the Marine Corps in 1970, Enrique demonstrated his courage as a fireman for the City of Calexico while demonstrating his intelligence as a student at Imperial Valley College, where he earned an Associates degree in 1972. It was also in 1970 that Enrique Camarena first showed his interest in law enforcement by joining the Calexico, CA Police Department. In May 1973, he began what would be his life-long fight against drug abuse when he was assigned to El Centro, CA, where he served for 13 months as a Narcotics Investigator for Imperial County.

Those 13 months as a Narcotics Investigator proved to be a life- altering time for Enrique. In June 1974, he took his determination to dismantle drug organizations to the Federal level, as a Special Agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration. During his time with DEA, Special Agent Camarena returned to his hometown in California for several years prior to his assignment in Guadalajara, Mexico, which began in July 1981.

During his 11 years with DEA, Special Agent Enrique Camarena received two Sustained Superior Performance Awards and a Special Achievement Award. Each award recognized Enrique's dedication to the fight against drug abuse and determination to scourge our country of illegal drugs.

His frustration with the drug trade was perhaps most evident by a statement that would later prove to be prophetic: He asked, ``What's gonna have to happen? Does somebody have to die before anything is done? Is somebody going to have to get killed?''

On Thursday, February 7, 1985, at 2:00 p.m., Special Agent Camarena left the American Consulate in Guadalajara to meet his wife for lunch. Having come dangerously close to unlocking a multi-billion drug pipeline, Enrique was awaiting a reassignment, which was just three weeks away. Enrique never met his wife for lunch that day and he never received his reassignment.

As he neared his truck that afternoon, five men approached him and shoved him into a car. By February 10, DEA Administrator Francis ``Bud'' Mullen had flown to Guadalajara and to help begin the search for Enrique.

On March 5, Enrique's body was found on a ranch outside of the town of Zamora, Mexico, approximately 60 miles outside of Guadalajara. Autopsy reports indicated that Special Agent Camarena had been tortured and beaten. Three days after his body was discovered, twenty years ago today, he was returned to the United States for burial.

Following the death of Special Agent Enrique Camarena and the press attention that the killing generated, ``Camarena Clubs'' started throughout the El Cajon, CA area. These ``Camarena Clubs'' were formed to create a united front against drug abuse among students, teachers and others in the community.

The summer of 1985 saw a surge in national interest in Enrique's memory and the problems of drug abuse. The Virginia Federation of Parents and the Illinois Drug Education Alliance called on every American to wear red ribbons to symbolize their commitment to help reduce the demand for drugs in their communities. Since then, the Red Ribbon campaign has taken on national significance.

Red Ribbon Week is celebrated annually in cities across the country. The DEA and many other drug abuse prevention organizations around America help to sponsor this annual event. In Delaware, the Substance Abuse Awareness Committee sponsors Red Ribbon Week each October to take a visible stand against drugs through the symbol of the Red Ribbon.

Special Agent Enrique Camarena was a devoted husband to Geneva ``Mika'' Alvarado and a loving father to three sons, Enrique, Daniel and Eric. Today, I ask that the United States Senate formally recognize the life and death of Kiki, as his family lovingly calls him, to place official emphasis on the impact he made on America.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. Res. 73, and that the Senate then proceed to its consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution and preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the resolution be printed in the Record as if read, without further intervening action or debate.