Watson, James, SA

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent Terry Watson was murdered on June 21, 2013 during a robbery attempt in Bogota, Colombia.  Special Agent Watson was assigned to the DEA Cartagena, Colombia Resident Office at the time of the incident and was on official travel to Bogota in furtherance of maritime drug smuggling investigations.  After leaving colleagues at a restaurant en route to his hotel, Special Agent Watson hailed a cab and after entering the cab, was stabbed by members of a robbery crew. Special Agent Watson fled the cab but collapsed a short distance away.  Bystanders came to his aid but he was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

Special Agent Watson worked for the DEA for 13 years, serving in Honolulu, Hawaii and San Juan, Puerto Rico.  He also served on three deployments to Afghanistan conducting dangerous counter-narcotics missions as a member of DEA’s FAST program. Prior to his DEA service, Special Agent Watson worked for the United States Marshals Service and served in the United States Army.  Special Agent Watson was survived by his wife, Fadia de la Rosa; his mother, Henrietta; his father and stepmother, Paul and Linda; and his brother, Scott.