An American man attempting to flee a Mexican drug cartel was not provided protection in Canada and has returned to the U.S.A
Clean cut and wearing a navy suit, suspenders and a booming southern American accent, it was clear that the muscular, former professional athlete seated at a table in Kelowna's Black Press Media office, is not from Kelowna.
Over the last few years on Smith's behalf, Dort has submitted applications to Refugees and Citizenship Canada, a leave for Judicial Review in the Federal Courts, a complaint to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal and letters to several U.S. Senators and Canadian Members of Parliament about the case. Black Press Media has reviewed copies of the signed documents and related evidence.
As Smith entered his teenage years, a faction of the Mexican cartel moved into his neighbourhood and the Smith family quickly befriended them. He remembers being enamoured with the jewelry, parties, fancy cars, lavish lifestyle and security that his new neighbours enjoyed.
Smith was predominantly involved in drug dealing and trafficking but claims to have never been arrested or charged with criminal offences as an adult. One day – that he says will forever be burned into his memory – Smith observed what he describes as particularly heinous crime, the shooting of an innocent teenager who was not much older than his eldest child.Planning his escape While he was powerless against the cartel's lethal actions in that moment, Smith said it was that incident in particular that made him decide he no longer wanted to be complicit in the violent criminal world he had been immersed in since birth.
Out of desperation, Smith reached out to local law enforcement, then the FBI, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland security as a confidential informant. "He made the conscious decision to give everything he knew to the FBI and law enforcement to stop the cartel from killing any more of his family and friends and innocent people," she said.
Black Press Media requested comment from the FBI on options available to those who want to co-operate with law enforcement for a chance at leaving gang life, but did not receive a response by publication. After a week, Smith was released and allowed to enter Canada as a refugee claimant. It often takes years for claims to be heard, and in the interim asylum seekers are allowed to live in Canada.
People can seek asylum in Canada as either a Convention Refugee, meaning they face persecution from the government in their home country for their race, religion, sexual or gender identity, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.
Smith said that public shelters were not safe for him as his large frame and deep southern accent do not grant him the ability to blend into a crowd. He said that almost immediately, several people had suspicions about his identity and began asking questions, forcing him to flee once again. In the documents, Dort argues that Smith faces violence in every city in America, as the cartel has infiltrated the drug trade in nearly every community. Smith also contends that he was denied protection from U.S. law enforcement on multiple occasions.
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