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Text of the Lawsuit Against Us

Narco News 2001

January 13, 2001

New Development in the Drug War on Trial case:

Here, We Publish The

Lawsuit Against Us

Kind Readers,

Recently, Trevor Peterson of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP ( tpeterson@akingump.com ) wrote to Narco News and informed us that, as part of his lawyer-lobbyist firm's lawsuit against us on behalf of BANAMEX, owned by Roberto Hernández Ramírez, they had posted an Internet site just for us. (Aw, shucks, Trevor!)

The address of that web page, with a copy of the lawsuit against us and Exhibits, existed happily on the Internet until today. There are many witnesses, including reporters, who were able to download the lawsuit from their site. But, when today we informed the world that everyone could read the lawsuit against us and see how huge banks and lawyer lobbyist firms try to silence journalists and citizens, their web site disappeared six hours later.

That web page was, from December 19, 2000 until January 13, 2001, at this address:

http://www15.brinkster.com/files1200/index.htm

January 26 Update: Banamex's attorneys at Akin Gump have put their web site back up as of today! (It was still down as of yesterday). (They've changed the address, too, from one that ends ".asp" to ".htm" We've updated the link.)

We congratulate them on seeing the light. Get your downloadable copies fast - before they change their minds again.

We still publish the full text here, because our site is faster and easier to read and involves no time-consuming download. However, we encourage you to view theirs as well so you can see that ours is an exact copy.

And we maintain the following text about it's 13-day disappearance as an historical record of the events that preceded their restoration of their own site.

In response to their removal of the site on January 13th, we wrote:

Maybe it's just technical problems? But it's been down in recent hours. In any case, we give you all the information that had previously been posted on the Banamex lawsuit web site here today.

Interesting, because today we wrote to their Internet provider, Jared Stauffer of Brinkster.com, asking him to please NOT censor this important web page in the history the fight for free speech on the Internet.

They must be really proud of themselves at Akin Gump and at Banamex.

I mean, when somebody files a lawsuit, he ought to want others to read it.

But tonight, their web page isn't there anymore.

Not to worry. We thought they might do that. We wonder if, since they can't censor Authentic Journalism, maybe they've taken their toy and gone home to censor themselves?

We don't know why they are not proud enough of their lawsuit to share it with you. Ask Trevor -- who's really not a bad guy, unlike at least one of his humorless co-workers -- whether he's proud to represent a huge bank in trying to silence journalists and citizens.

By contrast, we at Narco News are proud of all our reports on the drug war from Latin America.

And we are proud to be sued by censorious and unethical powers from Mexico City to Washington.

And so, in favor of the public's right to know, once again we share a document with you that the Narco-State and others don't want you to see.

This is the lawsuit which will be remembered as the unsuccessful attempt by Roberto Hernández Ramírez, Banamex and Akin Gump to shut down The Narco News Bulletin and silence Mexican and US journalists.

This is immediate history, that will someday be history.

Today it is news.

The Banamex web site that is no longer there had the following text:

Banco Nacional de Mexico, S.A. ('Banamex') has filed suit against 1) Mario Renato Mendendez Rodriguez, 2) Al Giordano and 3) The Narco News Bulletin. That case is currently pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Banamex has set up this web page as a means to deliver important documents relating to the the lawsuit to the defendants in the case. Clicking on the links below will display the documents and permit the user to save them, if desired. Please note that in order to view these papers, you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader, as they are in .PDF format. You can obtain the Acrobat Reader FREE from www.adobe.com.

And then it had downloadable copies of this lawsuit and the Exhibits (A through I) that it had attached to its high-powered but low-impact effort to censor, harass and intimidate us.

Although this lawsuit contains accusations against us that are knowingly false and malicious on the part of Banamex and Akin Gump -- especially an accusation that our motive for reporting on the drug trafficking activities on Roberto Hernández's coastal properties was "a scheme to extort money from Banamex" (they offer ZERO proof, evidence or even an explanation of this untrue and actionable claim on their parts) -- we at Narco News feel that sunlight is the best disinfectant.

We urge our readers to review the exhibits -- links are provided to all of them below -- to view them, all of them, as parts of a larger body of work. Pay close attention to those sentences that Banamex/Akin Gump have censored with elipses (noted by the use of three periods together as in: ... ). It is precisely THE WHOLE TRUTH that the censors want to steer you away from.

We also insist that any other media that quotes the knowingly false and malicious statement that we engaged in any scheme of extortion against anyone print the following response from our publisher:

"We are not in the business of extortion; we publish the facts about the drug war and the narco-system without protecting anyone. And the proof that their claim is untrue is that Hernández, Banamex and Akin Gump provided no explanation, nor evidence, nor exhibit, of that knowingly false and malicious statement. They won't accuse us of that crime outside of the protected speech of a courtroom because they know it is untrue. Call them and ask them to repeat it. They won't, because they know that their statements, not ours, are the only libel or slander associated with this case, and they, not us, are the guilty parties.

"They have no ethics. We do have ethics, and we look forward to the facts and the truth coming out in court."

Also, review the entirety of the online book that is Narco News, which provides important context for the stories about governments and media that protected Roberto Hernández Ramírez. Our stories on Plan Colombia, on Bolivia, on drug money in the US presidential campaign, on the behavior of public officials and powerful individuals and companies, including some of the banks that compete with Banamex, reveal that our coverage has been even-handed and non-partisan to any political party or financial interest.

And so tonight we shine our light, bright and proud, upon this sleazy, unethical, immoral and untrue lawyer-lobbyist-banker conspiracy to destroy us.

They have already lost in their attempt to silence us.

They have only made us stronger.

We will have more interesting news for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld LLP, and its clients, and for our readers, in the coming days.

(We suggest that the humorless slash-and-burn artist of Akin Gump, Tom McLish, bring Bob Strauss into the decision-making process, because McLish has been embarrasing the firm in Strauss's name. And Strauss knows the drug war is a farce.)

The Lawsuit, titled "Banamex vs. Mario Renato Menéndez Rodríguez, Al Giordano and The Narco News Bulletin," will go down in history as one of the battles we won as we advance forward -- arm in arm with so many others, including our readers for whom we exist -- to defeat the entire Narco-System and its bastard child, the War on Drugs.

The text of this lawsuit is now preserved at:

http://www.narconews.com/narcolawsuit.html

So that current and future generations may know that money and power do not buy justice, and that even a little web site, with no bank account nor profit motive, can fight and win against the most powerful and corrupted interests, we hereby publish the entire text of the lawsuit filed against us.

We trust that our readers can sift between truth and lies, between right and wrong, between censorship and Free Speech.

If anyone has any doubt, we recommend they start camping outside the courthouse in New York: there could be a very long line on Pearl Street of those who want to hear the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about the drug war in our América and the Narco-System for which it stands.

As Victor Hugo said, there is no army (or bank, or lawyer-lobbyist firm, or narco-system) that can stop an idea whose time has come.

That time is now.

From somewhere in a country called América,

Al Giordano

Publisher

The Narco News Bulletin

http://www.narconews.com/

narconews@hotmail.com

Enc: Text of Banamex v. Menéndez, Giordano and Narco News

See also:

José Martínez Interviews Mario Menéndez

Beatriz Fregoso Interviews Al Giordano

Free Speech Scholar Alvaro Cepeda Neri's Analysis

Cynthia Cotts: "Drug War Goes on Trial"

Free Mailing List for Future Updates

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

BANCO NACIONAL de MEXICO, S.A.
Plaintiff,

V.

MARIO RENATO MENÉNDEZ RODRIGUEZ,
AL GIORDANO, and THE NARCO NEWS BULLETIN

CASE NUMBER: 00 Civ. 8941 (HB)
Filed August 9, 2000

COMPLAINT

Plaintiff Banco National de Mexico, S.A. ("Banamex"), by and through its undersigned counsel, for its Complaint against Defendants Mario Renato Menéndez Rogriguez ("Menéndez"), Al Giordano ("Giordano"), and The Narco News Bulletin (collectively, "Defendants"), states as follows:

NATURE OF THE ACTION

1 . This is an action for defamation and interference with prospective economic advantage, arising out of a coordinated campaign by Defendants to impugn Banamex and the management of its business through knowing false statements of fact. In a series of personal appearances in New York, and in writings that originated here, Defendants have maliciously smeared Banamex with accusations that, among other things, it is controlled and operated by narcotics traffickers and has engaged in illegal activity. Defendants' assertions, which are provably false, have caused Banamex to suffer serious damage to its reputation, including pecuniary harm. Banamex brings this action to clear its name in New York of the Defendants' false and malicious accusations, and to recover compensation for its injuries.

PARTIES

2 . Plaintiff Banco National de Mexico, S.A. is a foreign corporation organized under the laws of Mexico, with its principal place of business located in Mexico. It is a privately held bank, is among the largest banks in Mexico, and is popularly referred to as Banamex. Banamex is a wholly owned subsidiary of Grupo Financiero Banamex-Accival, a corporation also organized under the laws of Mexico. Banamex is authorized to and conducts business in New York through its New York Agency, which is located in this county.

3. Upon information and belief, Defendant Menéndez is a citizen of Mexico. Menéndez is the editor and publisher of a newspaper called Por Esto! Por Esto! publishes a printed edition and an online edition that is accessible in New York via the World Wide Web.

4 . Upon information and belief, Defendant Giordano is a citizen of Massachusetts. Defendant Giordano is the editor and publisher of Defendant The Narco News Bulletin. At all times relevant to this Complaint, Defendant Giordano was an agent of The Narco News Bulletin.

5. Defendant The Narco News Bulletin is a monthly online publication that appears on the World Wide Web at www.narconews.com. Upon information and belief, The Narco News Bulletin is published from New York, and is registrant of the Internet domain name www.narconews.com, at the address P.O. Box 20743, New York, New York 10009. The Narco News Bulletin is affiliated with organizations in New York that raise funds for Giordano's writing and publishig activities. The Narco News Bulletin claims to have been read by hundreds of thousands of persons since it began publishing in early 2000. Upon information and belief, many of those readers reside in New York.

6. Defendant Giordano authors virtually all of The Narco News Bulletin's content. Through its agent Giordano, The Narco News Bulletin is vicariously liable for all false and defamatory statements made by Giordano in The Narco News Bulletin and is directly liable for the false and defamatory statements it publishes.

FACTS

7. Founded in the nineteenth century, Banamex is one of the oldest, most respected, and largest banking institutions in Mexico. It has been and is in full compliance with all rules and regulations applicable to credit institutions in Mexico, including requirements that its management be of high moral quality. Pursuant to the laws of Mexico, the management of Banamex is entrusted to a Board of Directors and a General Director. At Banamex, the positions of Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director are held by the same person, Roberto Hernández Ramirez ("Hernández"), and Hernández has occupied those positions at all times relevant to this Complaint. Hernández is also the majority owner of Banamex. Accordingly, Hernández is the person most closely associated with Banamex and its business management and operations.

8. Banamex expends substantial resources to service and maintain good customer relationships and to develop good customer relationships, including through public relations and advertising activities. Its efforts have been successful in making it one of the most respected banking institutions in Mexico, with one of the largest customer bases. Banamex thus has a reasonable expectation that its relationships with customers will continue and grow.

9. In or around March of 2000, Defendant Menéndez came to New York and, in a series of joint appearances in this jurisdiction with Defendant Giordano, gratuitously and maliciously libeled and slandered Banamex, falsely portraying it as being in the control of a criminal drug trafficker. This accusation is demonstrably false, and Menéndez knew it to be false when he made the statement. At these appearances, Giordano made the same false assertions, also knowing them to be false.

10. Since then, Defendant Giordano has written, and Defendant The Narco News Bulletin has published, a series of false and defamatory articles about Banamex and its chairman and principal owner. Describing it as "the Banamex story," the Narco News Bulletin articles have falsely asserted and implied that (a) Banamex was purchased and is funded with the proceeds of illegal drug trafficking, (b) Banamex is controlled and managed by a criminal drug trafficker, (c) Banamex maintains a favored position with the government of Mexico, including law enforcement authorities, through bribery with money illegally obtained from drug trafficking, and (d) incontrovertible proof exists that Banamex's president and chairman is involved in drug trafficking. In addition, some of these articles repeated and republished false and defamatory statements Defendant Menéndez made about Banamex while in New York.

11. The Defendants' assertions about Banamex are false. Neither Banamex nor its Chairman and General Director are or ever have been engaged in illegal drug trafficking. Banamex was not purchased with the proceeds of drug trafficking, nor is it funded with such money. Banamex is not controlled or managed by individuals who are or ever have been drug traffickers. Banamex does not and has not used bribery as a means of escaping liability for alleged drug trafficking. There is no proof, much less incontrovertible proof, that Banamex or its Chairman and General Director are drug traffickers. Indeed, after reviewing the Defendants' supposed evidence, The New York Times's correspondent in Mexico City publicly stated that Defendants' claim is "the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

12. Both Menéndez and Giordano claim to have personally investigated and verified their defamatory allegations against Banamex, and each of them claim personal knowledge that their allegations about Banamex are true. These claims are also false. Indeed, the allegations against Banamex had been thoroughly refuted at the time Defendants made the statements complained of herein, and Defendants were aware of the true facts. Defendants' statements were made with knowledge of their falsity and with reckless disregard for the truth.

13. Defendants agreed to work together and have worked in concert to publish false and defamatory statements of and concerning Banamex. They have performed overt acts in furtherance of their agreement, including arranging to appear jointly at a conference at Columbia University School of Law and in radio broadcasts to publish their false and defamatory statements about Banamex and repeating and supporting each other's defamatory statements in their respective publications and web sites.

14. Upon information and belief, Defendants made these false and defamatory statements to injure Banamex in its trade and profession, and as part of a scheme to extort money from Banamex.

15. The New York Times's former Mexico City correspondent has been quoted as saying that the Defendants' allegations of drug trafficking against Banamex are "so silly that no one's ever paid any attention to them." Nonetheless, Defendants' false statements have injured Banamex's business reputation and exposed it to contempt, aversion, and the grave consequences under United States law that can befall a financial institution that is suspected of associating with narcotics traftickers or engaging in narcotics trafficking. Defendants' wrongful conduct has caused Banamex actual damage. Specifically, Defendants knew of Banamex's relationship with its customers and sought to interfere in these relationships to cause Banamex harm. As a result of the publication of Defendants' false and defamatory statements, Banamex has lost existing and prospective customers and customer goodwill.

THE DEFAMATORY STATEMENTS

I. The Village Voice Article

16. Upon information and belief, in February 2000, Menéndez granted an interview to Cynthia Cotts, a New York-based reporter for The Village Voice, a New York publication. Menéndez falsely asserted to Cotts that Banamex's Chairman and General Director is a "narcotics trafficker," knowing that assertion to be false and with reckless disregard for its truth or falsity, and knowing that Cotts intended to publish that false statement in The Village Voice. In the February 23-29, 200O issue of The Village Voice, Cotts published Menéndez's statement that Hernández, whom Cotts wrote "owns Banco National de Mexico (Banamex)," is a "narcotics trafficker."

Cynthia Cotts, "Mario Menéndez vs. the Drug War," The Village Voice, February 23-29,2000, attached hereto as Exhibit A.

Upon information and belief, Menéndez spoke to Cotts and made the false and defamatory assertion about Banamex and its Chairman and General Director for the purposes of promoting his newspaper and drawing attention to an upcoming promotional trip to New York.

II. The WBAI Radio Broadcast

17. On or about March 2, 2000, Defendants Menéndez and Giordano jointly participated in a radio broadcast on the "Let 'em Talk" radio show on WBAI, 99.5 FM in New York City, New York. The purposes of their appearance on the broadcast included promoting Menéndez's newspaper Por Esto!; promoting Giordano's publication The Narco News Bulletin; seeking financial support for their business endeavors, including Por Esto! and The Narco News Bulletin; and promoting the Defendants' appearance at a conference to be held at the Columbia University School of Law shortly thereafter.

18. On the broadcast, Defendant Giordano made false assertions of fact to the effect that Banamex's Chairman and General Director is a drug trafficker and money launderer and that there is photographic and other documentation that proves these allegations. Defendant Giordano's comments included the following:

Giordano:

…I read in Mr. Menéndez's daily newspaper, Por Esto! that the host of the anti-drug summit between the two presidents, Clinton and Zedillo, was the most powerful banker in Mexico, who himself was a money launderer and a drug trafficker. And Por Esto! went further than just saying that he was a money launderer and drug trafficker, they went and took pictures of the cocaine on his properties - a very dangerous job his reporters did; they are very valiant journalists. Pictures of the cocaine containers washed up on his beaches, the 43 kilometers of pristine beaches and Mayan ruins that this man has bought up. His name is Roberto Hernández; he is the president of the National Bank of Mexico, or Banamex.

…We are here with somebody who is involved on the front lines of an international battle that has grave consequences, and he needs our support here in New York and here in the United States of America so that the Mexican government and the U.S. government understand that the American people are behind people who tell the truth, like Mario Menéndez.

…And these things that my favorite philosophy graduate is saying here, that Mario Menéndez is saying, is that these are not invented. He has published the photos. He has published the eyewitnesses. He has published the testimony. In this three-part series, there were 40 different photos proving this. And the photos don't lie.

19. Defendant Giordano, by these statements, intended to convey, did convey, and was reasonably understood by the audience of the radio program as conveying that the Chairman and General Director of Banamex is a drug trafficker and money launderer, that Banamex is thus controlled by drug traffickers and money launderers, that photographic, testimonial and eye witness proof substantiates these allegations, and that these allegations are the "truth," and have been "prov[ed]." These assertions of fact are false and defamatory. Defendant Giordano, who later claimed to have personally investigated these allegations and determined them to be true, knew that these assertions were false when he made them, and he made them with reckless disregard for the truth.

20. Defendant Menéndez was present when these statements were made, and, despite, knowing them to be false when made, remained silent and thereby ratified and confirmed Defendant Giordano's false and malicious statements.

III. The Columbia University School of Law Conference

21. Prior to the radio broadcast, Defendants Menéndez and Giordano had jointly arranged to participate in, and on or about March 4, 2000, did jointly participate in, a conference held by the Latin American Law Students Association on the premises of Columbia University School of Law in New York City. A sizable audience of students and other members of the public attended the conference. During the conference, Defendants Menéndez and Giordano again falsely and maliciously portrayed Banamex's Chairman and General Director as a drug trafficker, and again falsely and maliciously represented that irrefutable evidence exists to support that conclusion.

22. Defendant Giordano asserted at the conference that Banamex's Chairman and Genera1 Director is "a key drug trafficker" who imports "hundreds of tons of Colombian cocaine by boat onto his properties . . . and then by airplane towards the United States off [his] private airfield." Giordano further asserted that "documentation" exists establishing the truth of these assertions.

23. At the conference, Defendant Menéndez then falsely and maliciously purported to describe details of drug trafficking by Banamex's Chairman and General Director and Menéndez's role in the "discovery" of that alleged drug trafficking:

Menéndez:

…the one that is heading the traffic of drugs is the chief owner, general director, and a very close friend to President Ernesto Zedillo. And we are talking about the National Bank of Mexico director, Roberto Hernández-Ramirez. That was a big problem. Well, we went there. We stayed 10 days with the respective 10 nights, and we saw what was happening there. Freely, once, twice, and three times a day you have these boats - 28-, 29-feet long -guided by satellites with two powerful Yamaha motors that will leave the Colombian coast at the north part. Those are the Yamaha, the boats [referring to photographs]. Every boat it had -it takes about 1.2 tons of cocaine up to 1.6 tons of cocaine. All that cocaine, twice or three times a day, we are speaking of the end of 1996 and the beginning of 1997, would arrive to the coast of Quintana Roo, upper left [referring to photograph]. It would leave the Colombian coast from the north, and in 22 hours will be in Mexican territory. That cocaine was loaded in Roberto Hernández-Ramirez's land, and taken by airplanes, by bigger boats, and by trucks up to the United States frontier. . .

…We found the drug in Roberto Hernández's land, and we published the photos of Roberto Hernández property with drugs. Now we went to see to check with ministerial authorities. We asked them if it belongs to Roberto Hernández, and they told us, "yes." That was a very terrible crime. So we published this. Look at the drug [referring to photographs]. That was published. In Mexico, if you find a human being with two grams of cocaine they grab him, and we send him to jail. Now you have a big banker, that owns the biggest bank in Mexico, with a very close friendship with the President of Mexico, we show all that, and nothing happens.

…And we had all those proofs, but Roberto Hernández pays big sums of money, and he said that the proof that nothing was real except the Mexican magazines, newspapers, TV, radio, kept silence for these accusations.

24. Later in the conference, Giordano represented that he had personally investigated the assertions made in Por Esto! of drug trafficking by the "narco banker" Hernández, and confirmed that they were "pretty convincing."

25. By their statements during the conference at the Columbia University School of Law, Defendants Menéndez and Giordano intended to convey, did convey, and were reasonably understood by the audience of students and other members of the public as conveying that Banamex is controlled by a criminal drug trafficker, that there is photographic and other proof of this, and that the Banamex Chairman and General Director bribed government officials to avoid scrutiny of his drug trafficking activities and bribed the traditional media for their silence. These assertions of fact are false, malicious and defamatory, and Defendants Menéndez and Giordano knew them to be false when made, or made them with reckless disregard for the truth.

IV. The Narco News Bulletin Articles

26. In a series of subsequent articles in his online publication The Narco News Bulletin, Defendant Giordano repeated and expanded upon this false, malicious and defamatory portrayal of plaintiff, referring to the articles generally as "the Banamex story."

27. Although Giordano's articles sometimes credited Defendant Menéndez as the source for the allegation that Banamex's Chairman and General Director is and has been a criminal drug trafficker, Defendant Giordano claimed that he also had personally investigated Menéndez's allegations for three months, and personally confirmed them to be true "beyond a reasonable doubt."

Giordano stated:

Of course I had to consider the distinct possibility that the story was not true. And so I dedicated the next three months to researching and investigating the story. I listened to all sides.

The preponderance of the evidence eventually converted into what lawyers call "beyond a reasonable doubt." Indeed, the banker was a drug trafficker, and, more startling, the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico and the White House knew it when they agreed to hold the "anti-drug" summit on his land.

Al Giordano, "Drug War Hero of the Month-Mario Renato Menéndez Rodriguez, Editor and Publisher of the daily Por Esto!" The Narco News Bulletin, May 15,2000, attached hereto as Exhibit B.

28. Thus purporting to have personally investigated and confirmed the facts, Giordano repeatedly published articles in The Narco News Bulletin asserting falsely and maliciously that Banamex's Chairman and General Director is a "drug trafficker," a "major cocaine trafficker," a "narco-banker," a "narcotraficante, " "the financial engineer of the Gulf Cartel," " engaged in the lucrative cocaine trade," and "involved at the highest levels of drug trafficking." Giordano falsely and maliciously portrayed Banamex as having been purchased by Hernández with the profits from criminal drug trafficking, declaring, for example, that "Roberto Hernández purchased [Banamex] with narco-money." In addition, Giordano repeatedly asserted falsely and maliciously that the accusation that Roberto Hernández is involved in drug trafficking is true and "irrefutable." Giordano made these statements knowing them to be false or with reckless disregard for the truth.

29. On or about May 22,2000, Giordano published in The Narco News Bulletin an article, translated from Spanish to English, that Defendant Menéndez had written and previously published in Por Esto! In this article, Menéndez repeated false, malicious and defamatory statements he made to various audiences in New York during his visit in March 2000, including the Columbia University conference described above. The article falsely and maliciously asserted that Banamex's Chairman and General Director is a criminal drug trafficker, and falsely claimed that this allegation is supported by "irrefutable proofs":

Mario Renato Menéndez Rodriguez, guest of the Columbia Law School, said before professors, students, university leaders, journalists, clergy, artists and former prisoners of conscience that the charges and analysis made by Por Esto! about drug trafficking, made systematically and naming names, together with documents, testimony, hard and irrefutable evidence, was initiated [sic] in December 1996.

. . . Who in the United States could attain a fortune of billions of dollars as rapidly as the Salinas-backed neo-banker Roberto Hernández Ramirez achieved in five years?

"No one," was the editor's response.

--

Mario Renato Menéndez Rodriguez said that the Attorney General of the Republic and the National Information Center (CISEN, Mexico's domestic spy agency), are coordinated and directed from the Mexican presidency to defend and protect the economic interests of President Ernesto Zedillo. They, and a few remaining members of the neoliberal leadership, between who's figure with manifest priority Roberto Hernández Ramirez, move on the Yucatan peninsula and walk with recognized delinquents, psychologically unstable officials, opportunists and resentful politicians incapable of seeing "beyond their own noses."…

This explains why, save for some very honorable exceptions, corruption and depravity are the constant qualities of these personalities whom, in front of the media, speak of morals, ethics, law and rights. But their daily activities are marked with insolence, abuse of power and cynicism. They orchestrate truly criminal acts against economic and political adversaries of the President of the Republic. They are also serving the United States empire. Because these officials of the Attorney General-FEADS-CISEN, said the Yucatan journalist, are just as much at the service of drug trafficking and are compensated amply with millionaire sums of money.

"The confluence of terror with hatred and perversity," Mario Renato Menéndez Rodriguez reiterated, "is put into practice to try and distract the attention of national and international Public Opinion from the high-class delinquents, those 'white collar' criminals, the real responsible culprits in drug trafficking who are precisely those that order and direct that operations 'against' drug trafficking - the operatives of the Attorney General and of the FEADS."

--

The Yucateco journalist explained in New York that there is no accusation made by Por Esto! about drug trafficking on the Yucatan Peninsula that is not backed by irrefutable proofs, testimonies, documents, photos and graphic material…

--

The Yucateco journalist recognized that the hatred toward Por Esto! by the traitors of Mexico was sharpened by what is known as the "Cancún Case" due to the following facts:

- The unmasking of the criminal activities, connected with drug trafficking, and the criminal complaint tiled by Por Esto! against Roberto Hernandez Ramirez, chief stockholder and CEO of BANAMEX-ACCIVAL, who enjoys a very close relationship with President Ernesto Zedillo. . .

Mario Renato Menéndez Rodríguez, "Dare to Legalize," Por Esto!, May 22,2000, republished in The Narco News Bulletin, attached hereto as Exhibit C.

By these statements, Defendants intended to convey, did convey, and were reasonably understood by the readers of Por Esto! And The Narco News Bulletin as conveying that Banamex is controlled by a criminal drug trafficker, that there is "irrefutable" proof that this accusation is true, and that Banamex's Chairman and General Director made the money with which he purchased Banamex through drug trafficking. These assertions of fact are false and malicious, and Defendants either knew them to be false when made or made them with reckless disregard for their truth or falsity.

30. In an article published by The Narco News Bulletin on or about June 15, 2000, Defendant Giordano again falsely and maliciously portrayed the "Banamex CEO" as a criminal cocaine trafficker and declared that he had purchased Banamex with illegal drug profits:

Today we look at the white-collar drug trafficking class of Mexico, those who consolidated their control over that country's piece of the narco under Presidents Salinas and Zedillo, Bush and Clinton.
Some of these men - like BANAMEX CEO Roberto Hernández Ramirez - are rags-to-riches stories. Hemández, according to Forbes magazine, could not afford to finance an American Express credit card in 1980. Today he earns the largest annual salary in Mexico -reported as $29 million dollars - and is a billionaire presiding over Mexico's top banking institution.

Other political businessmen, like . . .BANAMEX co-owner Alfred0 Harp He16 appear with Hernández on the Forbes list. The first three have been widely implicated in narco-money, and the bankers all own banks in which officials have been arrested for drug money laundering.
Former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari is not on the Forbes list but there is considerable evidence that he ought to be.

--

A review of recent history:

Salinas became president through a massive and corrupt act of election fraud…

During his term he privatized the banking industry. And he sold the banks to men who were not bankers: Roberto Hernández, …and Alfredo Harp Helu were no more professional bankers than TV Azteca owner Ricardo Salinas Pliego . . . was a professional journalist.

--

The single-biggest winner in the wave of bank privatizations was Roberto Hernández Ramirez, who received the largest prize of all: BANAMEX, the National Bank of Mexico. He and his team of investors paid roughly one billion US dollars for BANAMEX. . .

Where did this group of neo-bankers obtain the capital to purchase these banks? It will never be known. A suspicious tire in the federal treasury department destroyed all the documents pertaining to the bank sales. But the tracks have not been entirely charred or covered.
Roberto Hernández and others purchased the nation's banks with narco-money.

--

Roberto Hernández had been, according to the newspaper Por Esto!, the financial engineer of the Gulf Cartel, launched in the 1980s by Juan N. Guerra and based in the Texas border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas. The Hernández narco-trafficking story has been widely explored by Por Esto! since its first report on December 16, 1996, and also by The Narco News Bulletin.

And yet Hernández quickly surpassed the legendary drug-trafficker Juan N. Guerra, who remained a kind of narco-ecologist: Guerra's primary product was marijuana. Hernández entered the lucrative cocaine trade, as documented by the photos of cocaine trafficking on his Caribbean beachfront properties.

--

The story does not, of course, end there. More clear, now than ever, is the role of some of these magnates - like the Banamex owner Hernández and the Carlos Hank family - at the highest levels of drug trafficking.

Al Giordano, "1994: The Consolidation of Narco-Power," The Narco News Bulletin, June 15, 2000, attached hereto as Exhibit D.

By these statements, Defendant Giordano and Defendant The Narco News Bulletin intended to convey, did convey, and were reasonably understood by the readers of The Narco News Bulletin as conveying that Banamex is controlled and managed by a criminal drug trafficker and that Banamex was purchased with profits from the illegal cocaine trade. These assertions of fact are false, malicious and defamatory, and Defendants knew them to be false when made, or made them with reckless disregard for the truth.

31. In an article published on or about May 15, 2000, Defendant Giordano wrote:

It was Menéndez who exposed that the host of the Clinton-Zedillo drug summit is himself a major cocaine trafficker.

Por Esto! had a banner headline with the name of the powerful banker who hosted the presidential anti-drug summit. It said: "Roberto Hernández Ramirez: Narcotraficante."

There were photographs, dozens of them, of cocaine, of once-pristine beaches littered with cocaine containers, of the dead body of a narco-sailor washed upon the shore, of a private airfield on the banker's beachfront properties... all supported by witness testimony, documents, facts, and something that one rarely sees in the US media: historic memory. The article was part of a three-part series that Por Esto! ran on that Valentine's Day weekend of '99.

The implication was staggering: if the United States President was holding an "anti-drug" summit at the hacienda of a man publicly accused for over two years of drug trafficking, then the US war on drugs had reached a new level of impunity and immunity in the press corps.
Of course, I had to consider the distinct possibility that the story was not true.

And so I dedicated the next three months to researching and investigating the story. I listened to all sides. I even listened to NY Times correspondent Sam Dillon when he called me one day out of the blue to find out what I had learned and, as explained in a related story in Narco News today, made a threat to use his power to destroy my credibility and that of the Por Esto! publisher. Ironically, it was Dillon's unsolicited phone call that caused me to drop all other stories I was investigating and devote my time exclusively to the case of the presidential host.

The preponderance of the evidence eventually converted into what lawyers call "beyond a reasonable doubt." Indeed, the banker was a drug trafficker, and, more startling, the US Ambassador to Mexico and the White House knew it when they agreed to hold the "anti-drug" summit on his land.

Al Giordano, "Drug War Hero of the Month - Mario Renato Menéndez Rodríguez, Editor and Publisher of the daily Por Esto!" Narco News Bulletin, May 15, 2000, attached here to as Exhibit B.

By these statements, Defendant Giordano and Defendant The Narco News Bulletin intended to convey, did convey, and were reasonably understood by readers of The Narco News Bulletin as conveying that Banamex is controlled and managed by a criminal drug trafficker. These assertions of fact are false, malicious and defamatory, and Defendants knew them to be false when made, or made them with reckless disregard for the truth. Indeed, Defendants had no photographs of cocaine on Hernández's property.

32. In another article published on or about June 13, 2000 by The Narco News Bulletin, Giordano referred to the "Banamex owner and presumed drug trafficker Roberto Hernández Ramirez" and asserted that a Mexican television company is "linked to narco-money" because it is partly owned by Hernández.

Al Giordano, "Dillon Responds -NY Times Bureau Chief Denies but Confirms: He's Going and the New Boss Arrives Before the Elections," The Narco News Bulletin, June 13,2000, attached hereto as Exhibit E.

By these statements, Defendant Giordano and Defendant The Narco News Bulletin intended to convey, did convey, and were reasonably understood as conveying that Banamex is controlled and managed by a criminal drug trafficker. These assertions of fact are false, malicious and defamatory, and Defendants knew them to be false when made, or made them with reckless disregard for the truth.

33. In an article published by The Narco News Bulletin on or about May 28, 2000, Defendant Giordano again falsely depicted Hernández as a drug trafficker. Identifying Hernández as the "owner of Banamex," Giordano repeatedly described him as a "narco-banker," referred to supposed "published photographs and a major investigative report on cocaine trafficking in the Caribbean beachfront properties of Roberto Hernández Ramirez," referred to "Mr. Hernández's cocaine trafficking," and indicated that "the people of the Yucatán peninsula widely considered the presidential host [Hernández] to be a major drug trafficker." Giordano also referred "to the cocaine trafficking in the Mr. Hernández's properties -complete with private airfield and 43 kilometers of beaches for Colombian cocaine boats to enter. . .."

Al Giordano, "The Sam Dillon Story- All the News that Wasn't Printed - Times Dumps Dillon," Narco News Bulletin, May 28, 2000, attached hereto as Exhibit F.

By these statements, Defendant Giordano and Defendant The Narco News Bulletin intended to convey, did convey, and were reasonably understood by the readers of The Narco News Bulletin as conveying that Banamex is controlled by a criminal drug trafficker and that there is photographic and other proof of this. These assertions of fact are false, malicious and defamatory, and Defendants Giordano and The Narco News Bulletin knew them to be false when made, or made them with reckless disregard for the truth.

34. On or about July 9, 2000, in another article published by Defendant The Narco News Bulletin, Defendant Giordano yet again identified the Banamex Chairman and General Director as 'a "narco-banker" and a "narcotraficante", called his property (described as "the property of Roberto Hernández, president of the banking group Banamex-Accival") "narco property" and "the cocaine Peninsula", and referred to "the cocaine trafficking operation on Hernández properties." He stated that "the Caribbean beachfront properties of banker Roberto Hernández Ramirez, of BANAMEX and the Forbes list, are operating as a key entry point for hundreds of tons of South American cocaine" and published photos with the following captions:

1. Por Esto! Reporters inside Roberto Hernández properties in 1996, investigating what local fishermen reported as a huge cocaine trafficking operation protected by the owner. The cocaine boats entered by night into these estuaries and unloaded their illicit cargo, later to be sent North to the US in small airplanes…

3. The private airfield from which small planes fly north on Hernández properties "without any governmental oversight."

4. 200 kilos of cocaine seized on "Punta Pajaros", owned by Hernández, the exact place where Mexico's President-Elect chose to spend his vacation 120 hours after winning the July 2,200O elections, as guest of the banker Hernández.

Al Giordano, "Where's Vicente Fox Today?" The Narco News Bulletin, July 9,2000, attached hereto as Exhibit G.

By these statements, Defendant Giordano and Defendant The Narco News Bulletin intended to convey, did convey, and were reasonably understood by the readers of The Narco News Bulletin as conveying that Banamex is controlled by a criminal drug trafficker, and that the truth of this assertion is proved by photographic evidence. These assertions of fact are false, malicious and defamatory, and Defendants Giordano and The Narco News Bulletin knew them to be false when made, or made them with reckless disregard for the truth.

35. Defendant Giordano, in that same article, also conveyed that Banamex and/or its Chairman and Genera1 Director attempted to bribe a Por Esto! reporter to refrain from publishing further allegations and to discredit the allegations of drug trafficking and money laundering previously made by Defendant Menéndez and Por Esto! against them, and also that bribes were made to other reporters for their silence and/or support:

February 1997: Por Esto! journalist Renan Castro is offered a bribe of $300,000 US dollars to denounce and discredit the story. An authentic journalist, he refuses the payment and continues his investigations.

--

One wonders, what would a "high-level" journalist do if offered $300,000 US dollars to squash a story? Would he or she refuse such a handsome sum of money as Castro did? And if the market was offering $300,000 US dollars to a Mexican newspaper reporter to silence this story, what might be the price of a "higher level" journalist?

Al Giordano, "Where's Vicente Fox Today?" The Narco News Bulletin, July 9, 2000, attached hereto as Exhibit G.

These assertions of fact are false and defamatory, and Defendants Giordano and The Narco News Bulletin knew them to be false when made, or made them with reckless disregard for the truth. Indeed, Neither Banamex nor Hernández nor anyone associated with them bribed or attempted to bribe any news reporters.

36. Further, Defendants have also used their publications to falsely and maliciously assert that the Banamex Chairman and General Director has illegally destroyed Mayan archeological sites and treasures. For example, on or about July 9,2000, Defendants Giordano and The Narco News Bulletin, in the same article described above, published the following:

Especially irritating to the Maya indigenous populations is the destruction of the ancient ceremonial center of Chat Moo1 by the cocaine trafficking operation on Hernández properties, and the environmental disaster caused by cocaine trafficking garbage that is left upon the formerly pristine Caribbean beaches in the Sian Ka'an Protected Nature Reserve.

[Description of photo] Chac Mool, ancient Mayan ceremonial center (300 a.d.) that has sustained serious damage since the narco-banker Hernández bought the property.

Al Giordano, ""Where's Vicente Fox Today?" The Narco News Bulletin, July 9, 2000, attached hereto as Exhibit G.

These assertions of fact are false, malicious and defamatory, and Defendants made these false assertions of fact knowing them to be false: and with reckless disregard for the truth.

37. Defendant Giordano, in an article published in Defendant The Narco News Bulletin on or about June 22,2000, falsely and maliciously asserted that Banamex was involved in an illegal scheme to launder money in connection with the recent presidential election campaign in Mexico:

Mexican banking and business institutions can also be found on this money-laundering route: BANAMEX, Bancomer, Bital, and TV Azteca, which received around $90,000 US Dollars through this scheme for Fox campaign TV ads, but from other sources than the Fox campaign. All of them are owned by key players in the New Mexican Oligarchy. Not only did they set Fox up to knock him down, but they all made money off the deal.

--

How can the July 2,200O vote possibly be defined as free, fair and transparent, now that it is revealed that the same financial interests - Citibank, Banamex, TV Azteca, etc. - implicated in drug money laundering by PRI officials, can now be found along the money laundering trail of Fox and the PAN.

Al Giordano, "Citibank Implicated in Money laundering for Fox Campaign," The Narco News Bulletin, June 22, 2000, attached hereto as Exhibit H.

These assertions of fact are false, malicious and defamatory, and Defendants Giordano and The Narco News Bulletin knew them to be false when made, or made them with reckless disregard for the truth.

38. Giordano and The Narco News Bulletin republished another article that also made false allegations that Banamex's Chairman and General Director uses his alleged drug money to woo politicians, the latest being Vicente Fox, and help them gain power, to then use their power to protect him and his drug trafficking operations. For example, the article stated:

And now we already know, also, that the vote of refusal against the PRI served so that Roberto Hernández can continue enjoying his personal island -with or without snow of ail flavors and types - so that his fortune is saved from any possible contingency, so that he will never be investigated by any authority, so that the worst of our political reality will be maintained.

We voted in favor of the drug traffickers' choice?

Isabel Arvide, "Roberto Hernández Elected?' republished in Narco News Bulletin, July 11,2000, attached hereto as Exhibit I.

The article's factual allegations are false, malicious and defamatory, and Defendants Giordano and The Narco News Bulletin republished this article knowing the factual allegations made therein to be false, or with reckless disregard of the truth.

CAUSES OF ACTION

COUNT I

LIBEL

(Against all Defendants)

39. Banamex repeats and incorporates by reference, as if fully set forth herein, the allegations in paragraphs 1 through 38 above.

40. In the statements set forth in paragraphs 16, 18,22-24,27-38, supra, Defendants repeatedly, and in a coordinated effort, made explicit false and defamatory assertions of fact of and concerning Banamex. These false statements were published to large audiences of individuals who understood Defendants' false assertions of fact to be about Banamex and understood them in their defamatory sense to impugn Banamex in its occupation and business.

41. The false and defamatory statements were not privileged, and Defendants published the statements knowing they were false, and/or with reckless disregard for the truth.

42. By the false and defamatory statements, Defendants imputed to Banamex the commission of a criminal offense or criminal offenses and exposed Banamex to contempt and disgrace, causing it to be shunned and avoided in its occupation and business relations.

43. Defendants, by the false and defamatory statements, have impugned Banamex's business management and its integrity and have negatively affected public confidence in Banamex, thereby directly injuring Banamex in respect to its trade and business. These statements have deterred present and potential customers and business partners from conducting business with Banamex.

44. The publication of the false and defamatory statements, proximately, and by natural consequence, caused actual damage to Banamex. As a direct and proximate cause of Defendants' wrongful acts, Banamex has suffered and will continue to suffer damage to its reputation, income, and relationships with its existing and prospective customers, business partners, and others.

45. Defendants purposefully and maliciously defamed Banamex in order to harm Banamex in its trade and profession, and as part of a scheme to extort money from Banamex.

46. Accordingly, Defendants Menéndez, Giordano and The Narco News Bulk-tin have committed the tort of libel per se against plaintiff and are liable to plaintiff for the damages caused thereby, as well as punitive damages.

COUNT II

SLANDER

(Against Defendants Menéndez and Giordano)

47. Banamex repeats and incorporates by reference, as if fully set forth herein, the allegations in paragraphs 1 through 46 above.

48. In the statements set forth in paragraphs 22-24, supra, Defendants Menéndez and Giordano repeatedly, and in a coordinated effort, made explicit false and defamatory assertions of fact of and concerning Banamex. These false statements were published to large audiences of individuals who understood the false assertions of fact to be about Banamex and understood them in their defamatory sense to impugn Banamex in its occupation and business.

49. The false and defamatory statements were not privileged, and Defendants published the statements knowing they were false, and/or with reckless disregard for the truth.

50. By the,false and defamatory statements, Defendants imputed to Banamex the commission of a criminal offense or criminal offenses and exposed Banamex to contempt and disgrace, causing it to be shunned and avoided in its occupation and business relations.

51. Defendants, by the false and defamatory statements, have impugned Banamex's business management and its integrity and have negatively affected public confidence in Banamex, thereby directly injuring Banamex in respect to its trade and business. These statements have deterred present and potential customers and business partners from conducting business with Banamex.

52. The publication of the false and defamatory statements, proximately, and by natural consequence, caused actual damage to Banamex. As a direct and proximate cause of Defendants' wrongful acts, Banamex has suffered and will continue to suffer damage to its reputation, income, and relationships with its existing and prospective customers, business partners, and others.

53. Defendants purposefully and maliciously defamed Banamex in order to harm Banamex in its trade and profession, and as part of a scheme to extort from Banamex.

54. Accordingly, Defendants Menéndez and Giordano have committed the tort of slander per se against plaintiff and are liable to plaintiff for the damages caused thereby, as well as punitive damages.

COUNT III

INTERFERENCE WITH PROSPECTIVE ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE

(Against all Defendants)

55 . Banamex repeats and incorporates by reference, as if fully set forth herein, the allegations in paragraphs 1 through 54 above.

56. Banamex is a respected banking institution in Mexico. It expends substantial resources to develop service, and maintain good customer relationships, including through public relations and advertising activities. Its efforts have been successful in making it one of the most respected banking institutions in Mexico, with one of the largest customer bases. Banamex thus has a reasonable expectation that its relationships with customers will continue and grow.

57. At the conference at Columbia University School of Law in March 2000, in the radio broadcast on March 2, 2000 on the "Let 'em Talk" radio show on WBAI, 99.5 FM in New York, New York, and in their print publications and web sites, Defendants repeatedly, and in a coordinated effort, made false and defamatory assertions of fact of concerning Banamex and its business management.

58. The false and defamatory statements were not privileged, and Defendants published the statements knowing they were false, and/or with reckless disregard for the truth.

59. Defendants, by the false and defamatory statements, have directly injured Banamex in respect to its trade and business. Defendants knew of Banamex's customer and other business relationships, and by their statements have intentionally deterred present and potential customers and business partners from conducting business with Banamex.

60. The publication of the false and defamatory statements, proximately, and by natural consequence, caused actual damage to Banamex. As a direct and proximate cause of Defendants' wrongful acts, Banamex has suffered and will continue to suffer damage to its reputation, customer goodwill, and relationships with its existing and prospective customers, business partners, and others.

61. Defendants purposefully and maliciously made the false and defamatory statements about Banamex in order to harm Banamex in its trade and profession by disrupting its customer and other business relationships, and as part of a scheme to extort from Banamex.

62. Accordingly, Defendants Menéndez, Giordano and The Narco News Bulletin have committed the tort of intentional interference with prospective economic advantage against plaintiff and are liable to plaintiff for the damages caused thereby, as well as punitive damages.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Banamex prays for judgment and relief against Defendants Menéndez, Giordano, and The Narco News Bulletin as follows:

1. That this Court enter judgment under Counts I and III against all Defendants jointly and severally, and under Count II against Defendants Menéndez and Giordano jointly and severally, for compensatory damages in an amount to be proven at trial;

2. That this Court enter judgment under Counts I and III against all Defendants jointly and severally, and under Count II against Defendants Menéndez and Giordano jointly and severally, for punitive damages in an amount to be determined by the jury as sufficient to deter future wrongful conduct of the type alleged in this Complaint;

3. That this Court award Banamex its costs; and

4. That this Court grant such other and further relief to Banamex as this Court may deem just and proper.

DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL

Banamex demands a trial by jury as to all issues triable by jury in this action.

Respectfully Submitted,

AKIN, GUMP, STRAUSS, HAUER & FELD, L.L.P.

Michael J. Madigan
Thomas P. McLish
Shari L. Fleishman
1333 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 887-4000

Sean E. O'Donnell
590 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10022
(212) 872-1093

Attorneys for Plaintiff Banco National de México, S.A

Dated: August 9, 200O

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