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In this episode, retired agents Elizabeth Mireles and Edmundo Mireles, Jr. review the 1983 kidnapping conspiracy case where the wife of a former Colombian Ambassador to the United States, was abducted at gunpoint from the driveway of her home near Miami.
The investigation took place in Miami, Alexandria, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Ed and Liz were among the hundreds of FBI agents working 24/7 to find the victim before her abductors made good on their threat to kill her.
In their true crime book Hostage, Seven Days in Captivity, they provide an insider’s look at the major 1983 kidnapping conspiracy investigation. The book can be purchased at www.edmireles.com and on Amazon.
Ed was previously a guest on FBI Retired Case File Review where he reviewed in a two-part episode the events of April 11, 1986, where, during the pursuit of two extremely dangerous criminals, two special agents were killed, and several others, including Ed Mireles, were wounded. Listen to Episodes 118 and 119: Ed Mireles – Fatal FBI Miami Shootout. Ed and Liz’s book about the tragic event, FBI Miami Firefight: Five Minutes that Changed the Bureau, can also be purchased on Ed’s website.
Special Agent (Retired)
Elizabeth Mireles
5/1980 – 3/2004
Liz Mireles served in the FBI for 24 years. After graduating from the FBI Academy, she was assigned to the Atlanta Division in Georgia, where she worked on a variety of cases, including the Wayne Williams Missing and Murdered Children investigation. A year later, she was transferred to the Miami Field Office, where she was assigned to a Foreign Intelligence Squad (FCI) specializing in Cuban matters.
Liz became one of two long-term undercover agents in an FCI investigation that involved several other federal agencies. The other UCA was a new agent named Ed Mireles, who was assigned to the Washington Field Office.
After this assignment, she was assigned as a team leader for the Miami Division’s newly established Evidence Response Team (ERT). She eventually married Ed Mireles and he was transferred to Miami to establish a common household.
After Ed was injured in the Miami Shootout on April 11, 1986, they were transferred to the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, while Ed underwent several reconstructive surgeries.
They returned to the Miami Division two-years later and after five years in Miami, they opted for an opportunity to go to the Omaha Nebraska Division, where they served two years before becoming eligible to transfer to their “office of preference” in Tucson, Arizona.
In Tucson, Liz was assigned to the Tohono O’dham Indian Reservation, where she worked a variety of cases and became the Tucson ERT team leader, which involved responses to a variety of crime scenes throughout southern Arizona.
Nearing the end of their careers, Ed applied for and received a promotion to become a Supervisory Special Agent in the Firearms Training Unit at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Liz was assigned to an undercover location in Virginia.
Upon her retirement from the FBI, Liz obtained a position with the private sector working on a government contract with the Defense Investigative Agency (DIA) for approximately 17 years.
Special Agent (Retired)
Edmundo Mireles, Jr.
9/1979 – 3/2004
Ed Mireles served in the FBI for 25 years. During his career, he gained experience as a street agent, supervisor and manager in a wide range of investigative and administrative areas, as well as extensive work as the primary undercover agent in scores of high level and high-risk narcotics, criminal and national security investigations.
He was assigned to FBI field offices in Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Omaha, El Paso, Tucson, and the southwest border.
He is married to Elizabeth Mireles, who is also a retired agent. They began dating during the investigation of the kidnapping case.
Early in his career, was involved in two deadly force confrontations with armed adversaries and has been wounded twice. On April 11, 1986, eight FBI Agents and two Para-military bank robbers faced off on a quiet street in South Miami. This event is known as the “FBI Miami Shootout” which resulted in the death of the two criminals, the death of two FBI agents and the critical wounding of five other agents. The shootout lasted just under 5 minutes with over 150 shots fired.
He received numerous awards citing his bravery, to include the National Police Officer of the Year Award in October 1986 from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Federal Law Enforcement Officer of the Year and the Attorney Generals Award for Exceptional Heroism from the Department of Justice in 1987.
In 1989, the FBI awarded him the first FBI Medal of Valor and in 1194, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice honored Ed by dedicating their academy in his name. The Edmundo Mireles Criminal Justice Training Academy is in Beeville, Texas.
After retiring from the Bureau, Ed Mireles, a former Marine, worked as a defense contractor in Iraq as a law enforcement professional and adviser to the Iraqi Police, including one year embedded (in uniform) with the Marines. He also worked with the U.S. Department of State in helping to train police in Mexico and Belize.
The following are open-source documents in the true names of individuals involved in the investigation of the 1983 kidnapping conspiracy case:
Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint
Criminal Complaint Craig J. Blas
The following are news articles and images (courtesy of Liz and Ed Mireles) using the true names of individuals involved in the investigation of the 1983 kidnapping conspiracy case:
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