White House unveils anti-cartel effort for border

By DEVLIN BARRETT and EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writers Devlin Barrett And Eileen Sullivan, Associated Press Writers – 2 mins ago


WASHINGTON – The Obama administration plans to send more agents and equipment to the southwestern border to fight Mexican drug cartels and keep violence from spilling over into the United States.

Speaking at the White House Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said officials were still considering whether to deploy the National Guard to the border. She plans to meet with the governor of Texas to discuss the matter.

Deputy Attorney General David Ogden pledged "to destroy these criminal organizations" through a united effort on both sides of the border.

Many of the moves being announced are a continuation or expansion of programs that already existed under the Bush administration.

Violent turf battles among the cartels have wracked Mexico in recent years, and led to a spate of kidnappings and home invasions in some U.S. cities.

Authorities said they will increase the number of immigrations and customs agents, drug agents and anti-gun trafficking agents operating along the border.

Prosecutors say they will make a greater effort to go after those smuggling guns and drug profits from the U.S. into Mexico.

Officials said President Barack Obama is particularly concerned about killings in Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana, and wants to prevent such violence from spilling over into the United States.

Among the moves the government is making:

_Doubling the border enforcement security teams that combine local, state, and federal officers.

_Adding 16 new Drug Enforcement Administration positions in the southwest region. DEA currently has more than 1,000 agents working in the southwest border region.

_Sending 100 more people form the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to the border in the next 45 days. A recent bill passed by Congress already provided money for the ATF to hire 37 new agents and support staff in the region to fight gun trafficking.

The administration is also highlighting $700 million that Congress has already approved to support Mexico's efforts to fight the cartels.

Yet the plan so far falls short of Texas Gov. Rick Perry's request last month that 1,000 troops be sent to bolster border security in his state.

During a visit to El Paso last month, Perry said he had asked Napolitano for aviation assets and "1,000 more troops that we can commit to different parts of the border."

Asked then it he wanted the military, Perry said, "I really don't care. As long as they are boots on the ground that are properly trained to deal with the border region, I don't care whether they are military troops, or National Guard troops or whether they are customs agents."

Last week, a Perry spokeswoman said that federal border protection had been underfunded for some time and that the 1,000 extra troops Perry requested would fill in gaps that state and local agencies have been covering.

I think it's great that something's going to be done about it.

we have troops down here now...but we need all the help we can get. hopefully this will help

I hope so. So many people are getting killed over it.

Yep...

Got to get rid of the mexican cartels... Right?

They will be interfering with the State of California's major export once CA gets it organized under their tax code.

Can't have that kinda competion no can we.

it will also help with Illegal immigrants as well

Being a member of a Nation that is 'under god'... Who am I to judge a person to be 'illegal' or not...

I believe it goes something like this...

We the People... (Who amoung us can define or classify just what a member of the PEOPLE is).

Who out there is willing to deny another the right to Life, Liberty and etc...

More then 7,000 people have died in Mexico from this since 2008. Torture and beheadings are common.

It's spreading into the United States and Canada. There have been shootings in Vancouver, British Columbia, kidnappings in Phoenix, and assaults in Birmingham, Alabama.

It's very risky for the truckers coming back and forth with goods.
They are being hijacked and killed.

Reckon it is time for them truckers to exercise the original Homeland security.

the second ammendment... Drop a few of them there drug runners and I reckon they will think twice bout F'ing with a US american.

OOOPPPs, they already snuck in.
Mexican cartels plague Atlanta
Mexican gangs stake claim to turf in New York
Phoenix is now the Kidnap Capital of the US, verifiable.
The Mexican Mafia has been allowed to run business since the 50's. in and out of prison.
Any major city will find Mexican Mafia.
HeII, California is their haven. It's a sanctuary State.

In 2007, 855,856 people were murdered in the US. The Stats aren't broken down determine drug related homicides. I would imagine, with all the gangs, there would have been considerably more people killed in drug related instances than the few in Mexico.

If Militarizing the Southern border will cut down on drugs passing, great. Hopefully, it will help keep out the Illegal also.

The last i heard, Mexico sent 4,000 troops to Juarez. Why they aren't in Tijuana or Neuvo Laredo, is beyond me.

Who was it, Nancy Reagan that said, "Just say no."? That was in the 80s, right? Obviously the 'War on Drugs' is not going well. i'd go so far as to call it a failure. Perhaps we should try a different tactic. I suggest that the government legalize drugs. Alcohol was made illegal, that didn't stop people from drinking it, it just created more crime, more death and more mayhem. How much money is being spent on trying to keep drugs out of this country? And now they want to send troops to the border, how much more will that cost? We are in the worst financial situation since the depression and that's costing more every day.

There'd be no reason for turf wars if it was all done in the open. People aren't killing each other over turf or drugs, it's the profit those drugs create. It's money. The government could control price, quality and quantity. The government would actually make money. If drugs were legal, the government could run an open, honest anti-drug campaign like they've done with smoking. Buy the poppies from the farmers in Afghanistan, if they had money and could create a better life, they wouldn't have to side with terrorists. Terrorists are using drug money to support their cause, if terrorists couldn't sell drugs underground, because people could get them legally, it'd put a big dent in their income. The U S wouldn't even have to sell those drugs, they could be destroyed and I bet buying drugs is cheaper than having a war.

How many people are in America's overcrowded prisons due to some drug related charge or crime? How much is that costing? How many lives are ruined because people got mixed up with ILLEGAL drugs? 99.9% of the misery related to drugs is because they're illegal. Don't you think it's time to consider a different approach?

Ooooops

You have a great idea.
It would go against being able to make war. War is as profitable as the prison system.
California is working on legalizing weed. The druggies were extatic. But, when they said there'd be a $50.00 per registered ounce tax, they cried.

Sounds logical to me...

that may be a good idea....the only problems I might see are with taxes for it...yes it will help the economy but the buyer's and the dealers may not like the hike in prices and since they sell under the table now....they probably would keep doing that so they don't have to pay an additional price. Plus some people commit crimes to get their fix of whatever it may be. without money this will still happen. But at least it's an idea

Oh please...

Those same places also have Asian gangs, Italian gangs, Russian gangs, black gangs, white gangs, mixed race gangs, Skinhead gangs, etc, etc, etc,

Out of those 855,856 murders you state occured in 2007 HOW MANY CAN BE LAID TO TO THE FEET OF ONE GANG.

Oh, Please, yourself.
Where did I state Mexican Gangs killed all those people.
And, DUH, 2007 is the latest stats the Feds have posted.
I refer to Mexican Gangs already being here. The topic is, DUH, Mexico, drugs, cartels?? Are not Mexican Gangs and the Mexican Mafia doin' bus. with Mexican Cartels, DUH??


Confusion said;
Conclusions are best when not jumped.

The cartel is not a gang...it is an organized killing and dealing machine. These people under the rule of a very sick and deadly man (who by the way, is one of the richest men) will make people do their work. Do it or die. That is what they do. They find people and force them to move or distribute their narcotics and pot to America (who is the largest consumer) where people flock after it. Not only that...they force them to make, handle and package their dope. If even a little bit is missing..they will kill them.
So those peole that partake in coke, ice, and the really good pot...heroin..How many died or will die so you can snort,shoot,smoke
someones death?
Legalize pot, those same drug pushers will stand to make even more money...because no one will want to pay that tax. It will get worse.


It has got so bad that churches are not sending their missionaries there. The government is warning about vacationing there. People are dying at an alarming rate in Mexico. By murder, for the greed and profit...and doping ignorance.
Kat

This is the only thing Obama has done so far that has made any sense.