Mexican Meltdown - An End Around Posse Comitatus ?

Travel Alert
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This information is current as of today, Sun Feb 22 09:31:06 2009.
Mexico
February 20, 2009

This Travel Alert updates security information for U.S. citizens traveling and living in Mexico. It supersedes the Travel Alert for Mexico dated October 15, 2008, and expires on August 20, 2009.

Crime and Violence Throughout Mexico
The greatest increase in violence has occurred near the U.S. border. However, U.S. citizens traveling throughout Mexico should exercise caution in unfamiliar areas and be aware of their surroundings at all times. Mexican and foreign bystanders have been injured or killed in violent attacks in cities across the country, demonstrating the heightened risk of violence in public places. In recent years, dozens of U.S. citizens have been kidnapped across Mexico. Many of these cases remain unresolved. U.S. citizens who believe they are being targeted for kidnapping or other crimes should notify Mexican officials and the nearest American consulate or the Embassy as soon as possible, and should consider returning to the United States.

Violence Along the U.S. - Mexico Border
Mexican drug cartels are engaged in an increasingly violent conflict - both among themselves and with Mexican security services - for control of narcotics trafficking routes along the U.S.-Mexico border. In order to combat violence, the government of Mexico has deployed troops in various parts of the country. U.S. citizens should cooperate fully with official checkpoints when traveling on Mexican highways.

Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have resembled small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades. Large firefights have taken place in many towns and cities across Mexico but most recently in northern Mexico, including Tijuana, Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez. During some of these incidents, U.S. citizens have been trapped and temporarily prevented from leaving the area. The U.S. Mission in Mexico currently restricts non-essential travel to the state of Durango and all parts of the state of Coahuila south of Mexican Highways 25 and 22 and the Alamos River for U.S. government employees assigned to Mexico. This restriction was implemented in light of the recent increase in assaults, murders, and kidnappings in those two states. The situation in northern Mexico remains fluid; the location and timing of future armed engagements cannot be predicted.

Source : US Department of State

John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 - H.R.5122

SEC. 1076. USE OF THE ARMED FORCES IN MAJOR PUBLIC EMERGENCIES.

(a) Use of the Armed Forces Authorized-

(1) IN GENERAL- Section 333 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:

`Sec. 333. Major public emergencies; interference with State and Federal law

`(a) Use of Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies- (1) The President may employ the armed forces, including the National Guard in Federal service, to--

`(A) restore public order and enforce the laws of the United States when, as a result of a natural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition in any State or possession of the United States, the President determines that--

`(i) domestic violence has occurred to such an extent that the constituted authorities of the State or possession are incapable of maintaining public order; and

`(ii) such violence results in a condition described in paragraph (2); or

`(B) suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy if such insurrection, violation, combination, or conspiracy results in a condition described in paragraph (2).

`(2) A condition described in this paragraph is a condition that--

`(A) so hinders the execution of the laws of a State or possession, as applicable, and of the United States within that State or possession, that any part or class of its people is deprived of a right, privilege, immunity, or protection named in the Constitution and secured by law, and the constituted authorities of that State or possession are unable, fail, or refuse to protect that right, privilege, or immunity, or to give that protection; or

`(B) opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States or impedes the course of justice under those laws.

`(3) In any situation covered by paragraph (1)(B), the State shall be considered to have denied the equal protection of the laws secured by the Constitution.

Source : Library of Congress THOMAS

The Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law (18 U.S.C. § 1385) passed on June 16, 1878 after the end of Reconstruction, with the intention (in concert with the Insurrection Act of 1807) of substantially limiting the powers of the federal government to use the military for law enforcement. The Act prohibits most members of the federal uniformed services (today the Army, Air Force, and State National Guard forces when such are called into federal service) from exercising nominally state law enforcement, police, or peace officer powers that maintain "law and order" on non-federal property (states and their counties and municipal divisions) in the former Confederate states.

The statute generally prohibits federal military personnel and units of the National Guard under federal authority from acting in a law enforcement capacity within the United States, except where expressly authorized by the Constitution or Congress.

Source : Wikipedia

'If' civil war starts south of the border, then perhaps millions of Mexican refugees will flood over the Texas border, almost certainly overwhelming local law enforcement ...

Then Sec. 1076 of HR 5122 kicks in, then the sky's the limit ...

So - Is this the way it'll come down ? What do you think ?

Sure sounds plausible to me.

Well, I guess I had better avoid speaking Spanish...

Seems like everybody's keeping their thoughts to themselves on this one ...

Not suprising.

This is developing situation and should be watched closely on a day to day basis.

Good luck everybody !!!

Originally posted by visible_villain
Seems like everybody's keeping their thoughts to themselves on this one ...

Not suprising.

This is developing situation and should be watched closely on a day to day basis.

Good luck everybody !!!

This situation has been developing for years. I live about 3 hours from the border in the state of Sonora, and I must say that this year looks to be building up rather quickly. I have seen an increase of Federal police and Military over the past two weeks here in Hermosillo both on the ground and in the air.

reply to post by visible_villain



I agree. This is a very serious situation that is being insufficiently covered in the media and warrants very close attention by every American. That a neighboring country has been classified by the US government as one of the two most likely to fail in the world is not receiving in-depth and daily coverage by the mass media is troubling. It almost seems orchestrated to me in a way - that there are folks who wish to continue this ruse that Mexico is a country of sleepy beach towns where you can get good beer and food on the cheap.

When unstable states fail they fail very quickly. We all need to stay informed on this one and those American's who live near the border need to have a plan because it will quickly become overwhelming.

Mexico has been a failed state for years. We have been keeping it propped up via bogus trade agreements and a loose border for years as well. There are a number of reasons for failed border security and one of them is that it provides a release valve.

You can take probably 50 threads in ATS that discuss serious issues and when you consider them in the context of a failed Mexican state, they become much more alarming.

I am very happy to live no where near the US/Mexican border.

Backgrounder -

The Mérida Initiative (also called Plan Mexico by critics) is a security cooperation between the United States and the government of Mexico and the countries of Central America, with the aim of combating the threats of drug trafficking, transnational crime and money laundering. The assistance includes training, equipment and intelligence.

In seeking partnership from the United States, Mexican officials point out that the illicit drug trade is a shared problem in need of a shared solution, and remark that most of the financing for the Mexican traffickers comes from American drug consumers. U.S. law enforcement officials estimate that US$12 to 15 billion per year flows from the United States to the Mexican traffickers, and that is just in cash, and doesn't include all the money sent by wire transfers.[1] Other government agencies, including the Government Accountability Office and the National Drug Intelligence Center, have estimated that Mexico's cartels earn upwards of $23 billion in illicit drug proceeds from the United States.[2][3]

U.S. State Department officials are aware that Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s willingness to work with the United States is unprecedented on issues of security, crime and drugs, so the U.S. Congress passed legislation in late June 2008 to provide Mexico with $400 million and Central American countries with $65 million this year for the Mérida Initiative. The initiative was announced on 22 October 2007 and signed into law on June 30, 2008.

Source : Wikipedia

Joint Statement on the Merida Initiative
Published October 22, 2007

This initiative between the U.S., Mexico and Central America is a "security cooperation initiative with Mexico and the countries of Central America in order to combat the threats of drug trafficking, transnational crime, and terrorism in the Western Hemisphere." The following is the joint statement issued on October 22, 2007.

The Governments of the United States and Mexico share a deep concern over the threat to our societies by drug trafficking and other criminal organizations operating on both sides of our commonborder. The growing operational and financial capabilities of criminal groups that traffic in drugs, arms, and persons, as well as other transnational criminal activity, pose a clear and present threat to the lives and well-being of U.S. and Mexican citizens. The United States and Mexico will make it a priority to break the power and impunity of drug and criminal organizations that threaten the health and public safety of their citizens and the stability and security of the region.

Both governments are profoundly committed to the concerted bilateral strategic and tactical cooperation necessary to combat effectively this criminal activity, particularly the threat it represents to our nations' youth, and to achieve the broader regional and international cooperation necessary to prevail in this fight.

The Government of Mexico has accorded the highest national priority to this objective and is deploying all the material and organizational resources available to its federal government to counter the grave threat represented by criminal organizations. Mexico has also deployed its diplomatic resources to build stronger international collaboration aimed at disrupting the networks on which these groups rely to carry out their operations. Their security spending targeting these organizations, across seven government agencies, has grown to $2.5 billion annually, an increase of 24% over the previous administration's 2006 budgeted levels.

The Government of the United States has likewise, through its federal agencies and jointly with their counterparts in Mexico, escalated its efforts to disrupt the trafficking of narcotics, money, people and arms across the border and to combat criminal organizations operating in both countries. Efforts outlined in the Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy, the National Drug Control Strategy, and the U.S. Strategy for Combating Criminal Gangs from Central America and Mexico reflects the progress we have made.

During the Merida Summit held in March 2007, Presidents Felipe Calderon and George W. Bush agreed on the priority of expanded bilateral and regional cooperation to advance these crucial shared objectives. Officials of our two countries have held intensive discussions over the ensuing months to develop effective strategies for doing so.

Our shared goal is to maximize the effectiveness of our efforts to fight criminal organizations -- so as to disrupt drug-trafficking (including precursor chemicals); weapons trafficking, illicit financial activities and currency smuggling, and human trafficking. The Merida Initiative represents a new and intensified level of bilateral cooperation that marks a new stage in the bilateral cooperation that characterizes the strong relationship between our two countries.

The Merida Initiative will build on specific activities that aim to 1) bolster Mexican domestic enforcement efforts; 2) bolster U.S. domestic enforcement efforts; and 3) expand bilateral and regional cooperation that addresses transnational crime.

Source : Council on Foreign Relations

Hidden agenda - takedown of the Mexican Government ?

Or, maybe I'm just paranoid ...

Current Mexican Leadership -



Source : CIA Directorate of intelligence

Homeland Security official affirms Mexican drug cartel violence has spilled over into Texas
Posted: 02/24/2009 12:00:00 AM MST

AUSTIN -- Violence from Mexican drug cartels has spilled over into Texas, state Homeland Security Director Steve McCraw said Monday.

"Yes, absolutely it has occurred; there's no question about it," McCraw said after a hearing before the House Committee on Border and International Affairs.

McCraw answered lawmakers' questions about Gov. Rick Perry's request for another $135 million for border security operations on the same day Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott asked lawmakers for a new tool to help bring down transnational gangs that threaten border communities.

During the border committee meeting, state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, asked McCraw whether some incidents that have been reported in the El Paso area would be considered elements of spillover violence from Mexican drug cartels.

Moody asked, among other things, if threats against American citizens, individuals seeking treatment at U.S. hospital for injuries sustained in Juárez and Mexican nationals seeking asylum would be evidence of spillover.

McCraw said yes.

"Anything that involves cartel activity that impacts Texans on this side of the border is, by definition, spillover violence," he said after the meeting.

Source : El Paso Times

After threats, Juárez mayor in El Paso
Posted: 02/24/2009 12:00:00 AM MST

Audio of press conference ( Spanish )
More on the violence in Juarez
Video

EL PASO -- Police are investigating threats against Juárez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz, who moved his family to El Paso for safety, El Paso police Detective Carlos Carrillo said Monday.

"We received information that the Juárez mayor lives in El Paso, and that possibly they were going to come to El Paso to get him," Carrillo said. "He has not asked us for our help, but it's our duty to protect any resident of our city who may be under threat."

Juárez police said written threats against Reyes Ferriz and his family were left in different parts of Juárez after the police chief, Roberto Orduña Cruz, resigned Friday. The threats were written on the kind of banners and posters that the Juárez drug cartel has used to send messages to police and others.

Meanwhile, Mexican authorities were unraveling a shooting Sunday in Chihuahua City that killed one of Chihuahua Gov. Jose Reyes Baeza Terraza's bodyguards.

Source : El Paso Times

Spring Break Travel Alert

Every student should be aware that Mexico in general has seen a marked increase in violence recently. The U.S. Department of State has posted a Travel Alert regarding travel in Mexico which is in effect until April 2009. The Travel Alert describes recent violence, and provides guidance and additional links concerning travel in Mexico. All students considering travel to Mexico are urged to review this information.

Due to these circumstances, The University of Arizona Dean of Students Office strongly advises students to avoid travel to Mexico at this time and during Spring Break.

The State Department website includes extensive guidance for U.S. citizens traveling and living in Mexico. Criminal activity in Mexico has not just increased in recent months, but also has begun to spread into popular tourist destinations. Specific guidance is also available concerning Spring Break travel in Mexico at: Spring Break in Mexico – “Know Before You Go!”

Source : University of Arizona Dean of Students Office

MURDOCH WARNS: NATIONS WILL BE REDEFINED, FUTURES ALTERED
Tue Feb 24 2009 08:36:39 ET

Media baron Rupert Murdoch issued an urgent internal communication late Monday, warning his staff: "We are in the midst of a phase of history in which nations will be redefined and their futures fundamentally altered."

Source : Drudge Report

Homeland Security official affirms Mexican drug cartel violence has spilled over into Texas
Posted: 02/24/2009 12:00:00 AM MST

AUSTIN -- Violence from Mexican drug cartels has spilled over into Texas, state Homeland Security Director Steve McCraw said Monday.

"Yes, absolutely it has occurred; there's no question about it," McCraw said after a hearing before the House Committee on Border and International Affairs.

McCraw answered lawmakers' questions about Gov. Rick Perry's request for another $135 million for border security operations on the same day Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott asked lawmakers for a new tool to help bring down transnational gangs that threaten border communities.

Source : El Paso Times

Gov. Perry wants U.S. troops guarding border
Posted: 02/25/2009 12:13:26 AM MST

EL PASO - Gov. Rick Perry said he wants 1,000 troops to help guard the Texas-Mexico border, and for the U.S. to fund strong security measures to fight the Mexican drug cartels that have spread violence and fear in Mexico, including Juárez.
"We're (also) asking the (Texas) Legislature for $135 million for border security - to go after transnational gangs, for technology and aviation assets," and the federal government for 1,000 troops, said Perry at a news conference Tuesday at the Chamizal National Memorial.

"I don't care if they are military, National Guard or customs agents. We're very concerned that the federal government is not funding border security adequately. We must be ready for any contingency."

Source : El Paso Times

Drug cartel roundup in U.S. nets 750
Posted: 02/26/2009 12:00:00 AM MST

EL PASO -- The Sinaloa drug cartel, at the heart of vicious drug war in Juárez that has claimed more than 1,900 lives, was the target of an extensive law-enforcement operation to disrupt its cells in U.S. cities, including El Paso, officials said Wednesday.

The arrests of 24 people over the past year in El Paso and the seizure of more than 3 tons of marijuana at a local warehouse last month were part of Operation Xcellerator, officials said.

Officials said more than 750 people were arrested nationally on drug charges as part of a 21-month, multi-agency investigation targeting cells of one of Mexico's most powerful criminal organizations.

Source : El Paso Times

West Texas gang indicted on drugs, weapons charges
Posted: 02/26/2009 08:42:06 PM MST

LUBBOCK, Texas—Seventeen members of a gang, who authorities say committed gang-related killings in West Texas, face drugs and weapons charges, according to an 11-count indictment unsealed Thursday.
The 17, who are members and associates of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation, are charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute coc aine and marijuana. Three of the defendants were also charged with conspiring to deal in firearms.

The indictment also includes drug distribution charges and various firearms charges, including using and carrying a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Source : El Paso Times

Mexican attorney general says violence near peak
Posted: 02/26/2009 11:33:25 PM MST

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's federal attorney general said Thursday that more than 1,000 people have been killed in drug violence so far this year, but that he believes the worst is nearly over.

Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora said the world's most powerful drug cartels are "melting down" as they engage in turf wars and fight off a nationwide crackdown.

He also said that 6,290 people were killed last year -- the most specific government accounting yet of drug killings that doubled the 2007 toll.

Source : El Paso Times

Felipe Calderón rejects 'failed state' label
Posted: 02/27/2009 12:00:00 AM MST

MEXICO CITY - President Felipe Calderón vowed Thursday to win the war against the world's most powerful drug gangs before his term ends in 2012, and disputed U.S. fears that Mexico is losing control of its territory.
"To say that Mexico is a failed state is absolutely false," Calderón said. "I have not lost any part - any single part - of the Mexican territory."

Calderón, a Harvard-educated conservative, said smuggling cannot be eliminated as long as Americans continue to use drugs, but believes he can beat back the cartels by 2012 to a point that the army and federal police can withdraw and leave the problem in the hands of local law enforcement.

Source : El Paso Times

Thousands of Mexican soldiers pour into the country's most violent city in crackdown on drug gangs
Last updated at 1:11 PM on 03rd March 2009

Armed to the hilt, they came from land and air, determined to restore order to Mexico's most violent city.

Nearly 2,000 Mexican soldiers and armed federal police poured into the border town of Ciudad Juarez last weekend.

The city - just across from El Paso in Texas - has been ravaged by drug gangs. Just this month 250 people were killed there by hitmen fighting for lucrative smuggling routes.

The soldiers' mandate is clear - and ambitious.

'This is to reinforce the operation in general ... to eradicate kidnappings, extortion, assaults and homicide,' army spokesman Enrique Torres said.

The soldiers are the first contingent of as many as 5,000 troops and federal police being sent to Juarez.

Source : Daily Mail

[edit on 3-3-2009 by visible_villain]

Mexico's military influx leaves a city on edge
Posted: 03/03/2009 12:00:00 AM MST

JUAREZ -- Army vehicles carrying five or six masked soldiers travel in pairs in the city across from El Paso. In the downtown tourist district, Juarenses are greeted by dozens of Mexican soldiers and federal police officers in SWAT gear. More soldiers are stationed on rooftops.

On Monday, the day after the Mexican government announced that 3,200 more soldiers had arrived, Juárez was visibly different from a month ago. But while the Army and police presence was obvious with more than 8,000 soldiers and law enforcement officers on the streets, their effectiveness remained in question.

"I hope things get better, but I think they are going to get worse," said Sergio Lozano Renteria, 37, a Juárez native. "I haven't seen the army make a difference. Things are getting worse every day, and every day more and more people get killed."

So far in 2009, more than 300 homicides have been committed in Juárez, including nine last weekend. In 2008, about 1,600 people died violently. Decapitated bodies, executions and midday ambushes on busy streets became everyday occurrences.

Source : El Paso Times

Elsewhere in Mexico

In the western state of Michoacan, attackers threw grenades at a city police chief's house and a police station on Monday in the western Mexican city of Uruapan, injuring four officers, a state prosecutor said.

Uruapan is one of many cities struggling with increasing drug violence. There were two other grenade attacks against police stations there in February.

More than 1,000 people have been killed so far this year in Mexico as drug gangs battle each other for territory and fight off a government crackdown.

Meanwhile, more than 800 federal and local police have been assigned to improve security in and around Mexico City's international airport after a series of armed robberies against travelers who exchanged money there, authorities announced Monday.

Mexico City attorney general Miguel Mancera said 460 additional city police officers have been assigned to patrol the areas surrounding the airport. Federal police have added 350 new agents to the airport since December, said Federal Police Commissioner Rodrigo Esparza.

At least 18 people have been robbed recently outside the airport. They apparently were followed after doing business at the currency exchanges inside, according to city prosecutors. Five of the victims were foreigners, including a French scientist who was shot and killed.

The French scientist was shot in the head in January after assailants intercepted his car and stole 4,800 euros ($6,336).

Source : El Paso Times

Juárez killings plummet after 3,200 troops arrive
Posted: 03/04/2009 12:00:00 AM MST

CIUDAD JUAREZ -- The influx of thousands of Mexican soldiers into Juárez is being credited for a sharp drop in the number of daily homicides while officials prepare for the military to take command of city police and other departments.

Juárez city officials have announced that military officials will take command of municipal police, transit police and the Cereso prison.

Federal police will also join municipal commerce inspectors as they check bars and nightclubs, officials said Tuesday.

Juárez officials also announced that federal authorities would set up surveillance cameras at various spots of the city and would restructure the 066 emergency response center, the equivalent of the 911 system in the United States.

Source : El Paso Times

Mexican president blames U.S. corruption for hampering drug war
Posted: 03/06/2009 10:33:48 AM MST

Mexican president Felipe Calderon told the AFP news agency that he blames U.S. "corruption" for hampering his nation's efforts to combat violent drug cartels.
Calderon also told the news agency that the main cause of Mexico's drug gang problems was "having the world's biggest consumer (of drugs) next to us."

"Drug trafficking in the United States is fueled by the phenomenon of corruption on the part of the American authorities," he said.

Source : El Paso Times

Mexico morgues crowded with mounting drug-war dead
Posted: 03/06/2009 08:25:50 AM MST

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - Bodies stacked in the morgues of Mexico's border cities tell the story of an escalating drug war. Drug violence claimed 6,290 people last year, double the previous year, and more than 1,000 in the first eight weeks of 2009.

Workers toil up to 12 hours a day, sometimes seven days a week, to examine the remains. When Tijuana coffin makers fell behind during the December holidays, the morgue there crammed 200 bodies into two refrigerators made to hold 80.

"There are times here when there are so many people, so many cadavers, that we can't keep up," says the Tijuana morgue director, Federico Ortiz.

Source : El Paso Times

Obama: Troop move to Mexican border under consideration

WASHINGTON — President Obama weighed in Wednesday on the escalating drug war on the U.S.-Mexico border, saying that he was looking at possibly deploying National Guard troops to contain the violence but ruled out any immediate military move.

"We're going to examine whether and if National Guard deployments would make sense and under what circumstances they would make sense," Obama said during an interview with journalists for regional papers, including a McClatchy reporter.

Source : McClatchy

Wouldn't it be more likely that any Mexican violence that spilled over into the USA cities... (such as the current mess in Juarez)

that the immediate area would be classified as a official disaster relief area,
much like the areas where hurricanes make landfall...


I cannot imagine the entire state of Texas would fall under the authority of Martial Law...
only the greater metropolitan area on the U.S. side of the ditch
which seperates Mexico Ciudad Juarez from American El Paso would receive national guard troops.

but... who knows just what twist & turns might evolve if house-to-house
fighting started in the wake of the drug cartels retaliations on the organized forces attempting to nutralize them: the Los Zetas & Sinaola drug cartels.


unless the USA starts to chase the outlaws into Mexico as they did in chasing Pancho Villa in the 1900s...
when no martial law was declared even after Pancho Villa attacked & robbed US towns north of the Rio Grande border.

[edit on 12-3-2009 by St Udio]

Congress focusing on drugs, violence at Mexico border and beyond

March 17th, 2009

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A bloody war between Mexican drug cartels is no
longer solely a south-of-the-border problem, members of Congress said Tuesday
at a hearing on the issue.

The violence accompanying those battles has crept into the United States,
and is believed to largely be fueled by money and guns pouring over the border
from America, said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois.

Source : The CNN Wire

Army Investigating How and Why Troops Were Sent Into Alabama Town After Murder Spree
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Army has launched an inquiry into how and why active duty troops from Fort Rucker, Ala., came to be placed on the streets of Samson, Ala., during last week's murder spree in that tiny South Alabama community. The use of the troops was a possible violation of federal law.

“On March 10, after a report of an apparent mass murder in Samson, Ala., 22 military police soldiers from Fort Rucker, Ala., along with the provost marshal, were sent to the city of Samson,” Harvey Perritt, spokesman for the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) at Fort Monroe, Va., told CNSNews.com on Monday.

The troops were apparently not deployed by the request of Alabama Gov. Bob Riley -- or by the request of President Obama, as required by law.

Wrongful use of federal troops inside U.S. borders is a violation of several federal laws, including one known as the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, Title 18, Section 1385 of the U.S. Code.

Source : CNSNEWS.COM

Obama to beef up Mexico border policy

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama on Tuesday vowed to invest the resources needed to address the threat posed by drug traffickers in Mexico.

"We are going to continue to monitor the situation, and if the steps we have taken do not get the job done, then we will do more," he told reporters Tuesday night.

He praised the efforts of Mexican President Felipe Calderon to counter drug cartels, which "have gotten completely out of hand," but said the United States must take further steps, such as ensuring that illegal guns and cash do not flow from north of the Rio Grande to the cartels in Mexico.

"That's what makes them so dangerous," he said.

Obama's remarks came hours after Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that the United States is sending hundreds of federal agents and crime-fighting equipment to the border.

Source : CNN

Clinton: US shares blame for Mexican drug wars

MEXICO CITY – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that America's "insatiable" demand for illegal drugs and inability to stop weapons smuggling into Mexico are fueling an alarming spike in violence along the U.S.-Mexican border.

Clinton said the United States shares responsibility with Mexico for dealing with the violence. She said the administration will work with Mexican authorities to improve security on both sides of the border.

"Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade," she said. "Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians."

Source : AP