Pubdate: Tue, 03 Feb 2009 Source: El Paso Times (TX) Copyright: 2009 El Paso Times Contact: http://www.elpasotimes.com/formnewsroom Website: http://www.elpasotimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/829 Author: Diana Washington Valdez Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/mexico U.S. OFFICIALS: DRUG VIOLENCE TO CONTINUE EL PASO -- Nearly 100 people attended a meeting on drug violence Monday at the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce, but neither U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, nor William J. McGlynn, a State Department official invited to the event, could predict when the violence will cease. The discussion was peppered with concerns about the border's business image, negative headlines and whether the Merida Initiative will be enough to help Mexico make a dent in the powerful drug cartels. "There was nothing said to convey any urgency about the matter," city Rep. Beto O'Rourke said. "I was disappointed. There was nothing to address the fundamental issue of the brutal cartel violence or the demand-reduction side of the issue." "I also disagreed with Congressman Reyes' comparing the situation (twice) to the movie "Last Man Standing." The idea that we stand back and let people duke it out is not showing leadership." Reyes also said reports of drug-related kidnappings in El Paso were "urban legends," prompting Patricia Quinonez, the president of a Spanish-language radio station in El Paso, to disagree, saying she knew such kidnap victims. "They're not urban legends," Quinonez said. When she tried to ask a second question, Reyes told her she had already used up one and called on someone else. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it has received information, some of it based on unconfirmed intelligence, of at least six suspected kidnappings in El Paso and through El Paso between 2007 and 2008, a number Newsweek also reported. Bob Cook, president of the El Paso Regional Economic Development Corp., said he did not know of any new businesses that refused to come to Juarez-El Paso because of the violence. However, he did not have information about assembly plants that may have left Juarez because of the violence. McGlynn, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the State Department, showed up an hour later than originally scheduled. He said he would travel to Mexico later Monday. "President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa has made an unprecedented effort to attack the cartels," McGlynn said. "Mexico has spent $3 billion on the effort, and deployed virtually (its) entire armed forces. The Merida Initiative is really their plan. The U.S. government can be a strong partner for these efforts." He said that in addition to carrying out major reforms of its police and judicial systems, the Mexican government is going after "high-value targets" like drug kingpins. Reyes stressed that it was Mexico's president who asked the United States for help, and that's why the U.S. government came up with the Merida Initiative, a $1.4-billion package for Mexico and Central America over three years. He said the initiative does not involve cash, only in-kind help, such as equipment, training and technical assistance. He said he could not disclose what portion of it may be earmarked for U.S. border security. Nearly 1,700 people have been killed in Juarez since January 2008. On Monday, Thomason Hospital spokesman Jethro Armijo confirmed two gunshot victims were brought to the hospital through the Fabens border crossing. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin