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Mexico violence must not spill over
by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Published in the El Paso Times May 27, 2008
As violence associated with narcotrafficking and Mexico’s warring drug cartels escalates in Mexico, we must cooperatively work with our southern neighbor to prevent it from spilling over the border and into the U.S.
Many Americans are unaware of the violent street war that brazen drug lords are waging against Mexican authorities -- mere yards away from El Paso in Ciudad Juarez, and across Mexico. These cartels battle one another for turf and drug smuggling routes. President Felipe Calderón is taking unprecedented steps to rout his country of these criminal organizations. Yet now, in a concerted effort to destabilize the government, the drug cartels are actively targeting and assassinating law enforcement officials, terrorizing community residents, and bringing a new level of barbarism to their tactics.
This year, the Mexican government has reported 1,200 drug-related killings, which is on track to surpass last year’s record of nearly 2,500 murders. As a testament to their ruthlessness, drug lords recently posted a death list of 22 targeted officials at a police memorial site. Seven of the named individuals were subsequently killed and three others were injured in failed assassination attempts. Ten more have resigned. In May, the Mexican government suffered another major blow when the acting federal police chief – who had served only 10 weeks – was gunned down by an assassin.
Narcotic trafficking organizations aren’t confined by borders. Cartel leaders in Mexico have successfully ordered hits on rival drug dealers on our side of the border. And U.S. lawmen are increasingly becoming targets. After all, most of the drugs being trafficked through Mexico are bound for the United States. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that, on a typical day in 2007, they confiscated 2,250 pounds of narcotics in 69 busts at ports of entry, and 5,138 pounds of narcotics were seized in U.S. territory.
The violence that accompanies this illicit merchandise could be carried over into U.S. cities that share a border with our neighbor to the south. We must work vigilantly and forcefully in concert with interagency and international partners to quash this violence at its source. On May 20, I met with Mexico’s Ambassador to the U.S., Arturo Sarukhán, and he reiterated his country’s commitment to combating drug trafficking and working cooperatively to address this challenge.
President Calderón has mobilized tens of thousands of police and military personnel to take on the drug cartels. In 2007, Mexico extradited more than 80 criminals to the U.S. The Mexican government has also made important regulatory reforms to stem the flow of chemicals used in methamphetamines across the border.
Last year, President Bush and President Calderón laid the groundwork for a coordinated response. They created the Merida Initiative, a sweeping program to bolster Mexico’s crackdown on drug and criminal rings. Together, our governments will purchase equipment and provide training in the U.S. to help Mexican law enforcement intercept trafficked drugs, arms, cash, and persons. This plan emphasizes training to strengthen judicial systems, law enforcement, and witness protection programs. The initiative also leverages technology to improve and secure communications systems so we can better collect information.
While the Merida Initiative is a key component in cracking down on narcotrafficking in the Western Hemisphere, I could not support it without added funding for border law enforcement here at home. American police officers and sheriffs are being shot at from across the border by drug lords. To aid our law enforcement in their defense of our homeland, I added funding to equip local law enforcement along the border and in High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas. Of this amount, $10 million will be directed to fully fund Project Gunrunner, an initiative to halt the illegal flow of U.S. firearms into Mexico and thereby deprive the cartels of weapons.
We share more than just a border with our neighbor, Mexico. We also share the burden of fighting narcotrafficking and protecting our citizens from the terrorism that drug cartels seek to spread. Now, through the Merida Initiative, and through my efforts to increase federal funds for U.S. law enforcement agencies, we are beginning to take the necessary steps to meet this challenge.
Kay Bailey Hutchison is the senior U.S. Senator from Texas.
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