United States Drug Enforcement Administration

EL PASO – For the first time in its history, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) El Paso Division will be led by an El Pasoan. Omar Arellano, who graduated from Del Valle High and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), is the new Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the DEA’s El Paso Division, which serves the entire state of New Mexico and 17 counties of West Texas. Arellano, who reported to El Paso on Monday March 10, is the eleventh SAC to lead the DEA El Paso Division.

“It is a great honor to come home and lead one of the great divisions of the DEA,” Arellano said. “The men and women who work in this region are excellent, and I look forward to working with them again in this new role.”

Arellano began his DEA career in the El Paso Division back in 2003. For 22 years, he’s served DEA in several roles, including agent at the Mexico City Country Office, Resident Agent in Charge of the Ciudad Juarez Resident Office, Supervisory Agent at the Dallas Division, and Executive Assistant to the Director of the El Paso Intelligence Center. As a member of the Financial Investigations Section at DEA Headquarters, he developed expertise in directing and managing complex international money laundering investigations.

Arellano also served as Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) of the Bogota, Colombia office. While serving as ASAC in Colombia, he was tasked to serve as Acting SAC for the Andean Division, which has oversight of DEA operations in Colombia and Ecuador.

Prior to becoming the El Paso Division SAC, he served as the Chief of Foreign Operations. In that role, he was DEA’s expert on foreign drug issues and operations around the world and oversaw DEA’s global drug enforcement efforts in 91 foreign offices located in 68 countries. Joint investigations initiated by Arellano with host nation officials and other U.S. government agencies have resulted in the arrests of several leaders of Mexican and Colombian cartels.

Arellano holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from UTEP. He is married to an El Pasoan and has two adult children.

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