Pubdate: Mon, 13 Dec 2010
Source: El Paso Times (TX)
Copyright: 2010 El Paso Times
Contact: http://www.elpasotimes.com/townhall/ci_14227323
Website: http://www.elpasotimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/829
Author: Diana Washington Valdez

DOCUMENT: MEXICO CAN'T CONTROL BORDER

The Mexican government has no control of its 577-mile border with 
Guatemala, where arms, drugs and immigrant smugglers appear to have 
free rein, according to a U.S. diplomatic cable disclosed recently by 
WikiLeaks.

The document says that Mexico does not have enough resources to 
patrol the border.

"Limited resources also undermine the effort: while there are 30,000 
U.S. CBP officers on the 1,926-mile Mexican/U.S. border, only 125 
Mexican immigration officials monitor the 577-mile border with 
Guatemala," the document states.

"The weakness of the state (Guatemalan government), the pervasive 
violence, the widespread corruption, and the country's strategic 
location for drug trafficking are creating a very dangerous cocktail."

The state of lawlessness in Guatemala is such that residents rely on 
the Zetas instead of police to provide security, the released 
documents say. The Zetas, who formerly worked for the Gulf cartel, 
are reported to be making inroads in Chihuahua state.

Several U.S. documents leaked to online whistleblower WikiLeaks 
mention diplomats' interest in the drug trade and drug corruption in 
Latin America and the Middle East.

In another recent document, U.S. diplomats voiced concerns that 
Mexican drug dealers could end up buying certain high-tech weapons 
that Russia had sold to Venezuela. Such weapons are capable of 
shooting down U.S. combat helicopters.

The document said U.S. officials feared that members of the 
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) would obtain the 
weapons for the Mexican cartels.

FARC guerrilla members have been reported in Mexico for the past 10 
years and are suspected of helping one of the Mexican drug cartels 
kidnap a high-level official of the National Action Party, officials said.

Last month, the Colombian government asked Mexico for details about a 
shooting victim in Juarez who was suspected of belonging to FARC. In 
Colombia, officials said, the FARC has carried out hundreds of 
kidnappings and extortions, and collaborates with drug cartels to 
finance its operations.

Mexican drug cartels also have operations in Nicaragua, where U.S. 
diplomats were told that high-level Nicaraguan officials received 
suitcases filled with cash to protect drug-traffickers, and that 
judges in that country released drug dealers soon after they were 
arrested by Nicaragua's police.

Other leaked U.S. documents have portrayed a Mexico that has lost 
control of some regions to drug cartels and struggles to develop an 
effective anti-drug strategy.

President Obama condemned WikiLeaks' disclosure of sensitive U.S. 
diplomatic cables, and called Mexican President Felipe Calderon on 
Saturday to assure him the leaks would not interfere with U.S.-Mexico 
relations, the Associated Press reported.

The Mexican government's crackdown against drug cartels began under 
Calderon in December 2006, but U.S. statistics indicate Mexico's drug 
wars have not put much of a dent on drug-trafficking in the West Texas region.

Seizures for cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine rose in calendar 
year 2009 compared to the prior year, according to the West Texas 
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area in El Paso. Only marijuana 
seizures were down.

West Texas HIDTA reported the following seizures in pounds as follows:

Cocaine: 3,040 pounds in 2009; 1,115 pounds in 2008.

Heroin: 132 pounds in 2009; 65 pounds in 2008.

Methamphetamine: 67 pounds in 2009; 18.6 pounds in 2008.

Marijuana: 210,854 pounds in 2009; 295,814 pounds in 2008. The High 
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area agency coordinates and funds federal, 
state and local task forces to disrupt or dismantle drug-trafficking 
organizations. Different regions across the United States are 
represented by regional HIDTAs.

According to a 2010 Drug Intelligence Center report, cocaine 
smuggling routes have shifted due to the increased flow of cocaine to 
Europe, tougher enforcement in Mexico, unrelenting drug cartel 
violence and U.S. interdiction efforts.

"Conversely, heroin seizures along the Southwest border have been 
increasing, most likely as a result of the growing Mexican influence 
in heroin production and transportation," the 2010 report said.

Mexican officials said drug dealers in Mexico are also selling more 
illegal drugs in the domestic market than in the past, probably 
because they are finding it harder to smuggle drugs across the U.S. border.

Drug rehabilitation experts said this is a troubling trend that can 
be seen in Juarez, which is ravaged by unprecedented violence, and 
where the number of drug addicts (excluding alcohol addicts) surpasses 100,000.

DEA officials said most of the drugs smuggled into the United States 
come through Mexico, which is also a producer of heroin and marijuana.

For U.S. border agents, intercepting illegal narcotics is practically 
a daily occurrence.

This past week, two El Pasoans with express border crossing 
privileges were arrested in two separate busts after U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection officers found marijuana in their vehicles.

Officials identified the suspects caught at the Stanton Street 
international bridge as Raunice Reyes, 33, and Esther Ivon Navarro, 53.

They were charged with drug smuggling, and their SENTRI status was revoked.

To get a permit under the Secure Electronic Network for Travelers 
Rapid Inspection program, applicants must undergo a background check 
and pay extra fees.

"We have an absolute zero tolerance policy for violations in the 
SENTRI lane, and we maintain the integrity of the program through 
random and targeted exams," said William Molaski, U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection's El Paso port director.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom