Archives|
Archives |
By Jack D. McNamara Sierra Blanca and Hudspeth County continued to demand the attention of border watchers. Hudspeth County Sheriff Arvin West has apparently found his Boswell in Sara Carter, a staff writer for the San Bernardino (California) County Sun and the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (both online). The sheriff, on his way to Washington, D.C. for a hearing before a congressional committee, was quoted Saturday, “It’s a two-way battle we’re fighting between the drug wars, which includes Mexico’s corruption … And we’re also fighting the American government to get them to listen to us.” Throughout last week that part of the government represented by the House of Representatives, whose border security bill passed before the Christmas recess, was certainly listening. The press reported meetings with the bill’s sponsor, Representative James Sensenbrenner (Republican-Wisconsin); the Chairman of the Homeland Security’s Subcommittee on Investigations, Michael McCaul of Austin and Representative John Culberson, a Republican from Houston with fanciful imaginings of Mexico. The subcommittee scheduled a hearing for last Tuesday afternoon on “reported incursions into the United States by individuals appearing to be members of the Mexican military.” Sheriff West, Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, Chairman of the Texas Sheriff’s Border Coalition and T.J. Bonner of the National Border Control Council are scheduled witnesses. The sheriffs also have the attention of the Mexican government. In Mexico City the Mexican Defense Minister Clemente Vega and Attorney General Daniel Cabeza de la Vaca held a press conference to deny the involvement of the Mexican military in the January 23 incursion at Neely’s Crossing. The Mexican officials described four men as “Juarez Valley” narcotraffickers and said they had six “Hummers” used as narcotics vehicles. The Mexican officials continued to deny that any Mexican military personnel were involved. Sheriff West continues to insist that the Mexican military aids the narcotraffickers. “Fox’s (Mexican President Vicente Fox) and Bush’s people are a pack of liars …” “Everyone who lives here knows it,” said the colorful sheriff, referring to Mexican military involvement with narcotics traffickers. But it is also true that the past few years have seen more and more responsibility placed on the Mexican Army in the fight against the narcos. Local Mexican police have failed, Mexican state police have failed, and the most spectacular policing failures of all have been those of the Mexican “federales,” the federal police. If the Mexican Army is corrupt, there are few if any possible remaining solutions available to Mexico. The U.S. State Department knows this very well so it kept its bureaucratic mouth shut last week. Over the weekend a deputy sheriff from Val Verde County, Terry Simons, “warned federal lawmakers that drug traffickers are helping terrorists with possible Al Qaeda ties cross the porous Texas-Mexico border into the U.S.,” according to an AP story in the Austin American Statesman online February 4, “Sheriff warns of terrorist threats on border.” Representative John Culberson of Houston said the FBI told him that terrorists have adopted Hispanic surnames and are “blending in with other illegals coming over the border.” An FBI agent in Houston said there was “no credible evidence” to support the warning. All this exciting and controversial news failed to get the attention of those paid to coordinate border efforts. As of Monday neither the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) website nor the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) website posted anything to do with the Neely’s Crossing standoff of January 23 or the previous confrontation in November. The CBP website lists 18 press officers but none could answer a simple email asking if they had a statement available. This raises questions. Were there any Border Patrol officers at Neely’s Crossing January 23? There were few references to the Border Patrol in the numerous stories except for an unflattering statement in an online El Paso newspaper attributed to an unnamed Hudspeth County deputy who alleged the Border Patrol refused to go to Neely’s Crossing. The November 2005 confrontation directly involved the Border Patrol. Also the Internet search engine Google produced a Marfa Sector press release of March 24, 2003 which described a Sunday afternoon event similar to that of January 23, 2006. A 1999 Chevrolet pickup attempted to flee back to Mexico and gunshots were fired by Border Patrol agents. The driver abandoned the vehicle and 1,145 pounds of marijuana and fled. “No Border Patrol agents were injured, but they did find traces of fresh blood on the driver’s side floor of the vehicle,” said the press release. The CPB website does have one new and interesting posting. It is a lengthy description of the “Secure Border Initiative (SBI).” The Secretary of Homeland Security tells us that “our goal is to have operational control of both the northern and southern borders within five years.” We will add 1000 agents (which is a total increase of 3,000 since 9/11). There is $3.9 billion for 2000 more detention beds, up to 20,000. More enforcement agents, technology such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). It is a lengthy plan reflecting many of the issues recently in the news. At the same time, with no reference to the DHS plan, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a contract to Kellogg Brown and Root of Houston worth $385 million for “building temporary immigration detention centers.” KBR is Vice President Richard Cheney’s former company (“Halliburton Subsidiary Gets Contract to Add Temporary Immigration Detention Centers” by Rachel L. Swarns, New York Times online February 4, 2006). The sheriffs want to fight the Mexican Army but the Homeland Security Department wants to expand their private prison business. We get it. • (Also published by the Big Bend Sentinel of Marfa, Texas February 9, 2006.) |