White House Steps Up Drug Cartel Fight

(CBS/ AP)  The Obama administration says it is sending more agents and equipment to the southwestern U.S. border to combat Mexican drug cartels.

Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said officials still were considering whether to deploy the National Guard to the border. She plans to meet with Texas Gov. Rick Perry 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.

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

Authorities say they will increase the number of immigration and customs agents, drug agents and antigun 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 United States into Mexico.

Officials said President Barack Obama is particularly concerned about killings in Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana, Mexican cities just across the border from El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California, and wants to prevent the violence from spilling over into the United States.

Recently, Mexico's president Felipe Calderon sent an influx of soldiers into Juarez to stem the drug violence. CBS Radio News correspondent Cami McCormick reported, the move has worked so far with fewer murders in Juarez, and U.S. agents are seizing fewer drugs crossing the border.

But, McCormick reports, ask most people here whether they think the peace will hold and they simply shake their heads. Some speculate the drug cartels may have called a ceasefire among themselves, only to prepare for all-out war on these Mexican security forces.

Among moves the government plans:

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

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

Sending 100 more people form the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to the border during 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 also is highlighting $700 million that Congress has approved to support Mexico's efforts to fight the cartels.

The plan so far falls short of a request last month by Perry, the Texas governor, 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 help and "1,000 more troops that we can commit to different parts of the border."

Asked then if 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 federal border protection had been underfunded for some time, and the 1,000 extra troops Perry requested would fill in gaps that state and local agencies have been covering.

[honestabe8]

formrusmcsgt: i agree. i also believe that those fighting this "war" know it's unwinnable, but they lack the testicular fortitude to admit this. they simply do not want to give up their power. and the political hacks who have been loudly pro-drug war sure as hell do not want to admit that they were just blowhards. i wish festering boils on barry mccaffery, william bennett, and john walters, to name a few.

[formrusmcsgt]

Deputy Attorney General David Ogden pledged "to destroy these criminal organizations" through a united effort on both sides of the border.
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As long as drugs are contraband, no amount of government effort will "destroy" importation syndicates.

[SnowGirlCoveredinDirt]

Oh, I see. . . . . the Mexican Government should do what the United States Government has failed to do for the past 50 years. Easy to point the finger south but the reality is that the true problem is on your side of the border..
Posted by expatriate2 at 9:35 PM ....

Yes. The easiest way for most to feel good about themselves and superior, is to find fault and point fingers at others. Bait and switch.

[bumpedoff1]

And it's war with mexico

[cattiej]

Instead of sending 14,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan, Obama should send all 14,000 to our southern borders, soldiers who are fully armed. Armed better than the drug cartels. Why is Obama sending 700 million to Mexico to help them fight the drug cartels?? Bush gave them millions too and what happened to the money. It looks to me like the Mexican Army is very corrupt and greedy and very well armed. Mexican government should have stopped the selling and dealing of drugs in their country years ago.
To anyone who is reading this and using drugs, you too should be arrested for murder because people are losing their lives so you could put illegal drugs in your body. Stop the insanity. Get help. If anyone you know is using drugs, tell them they are they cause of all this border beheadings. It is time our government arrested the drug dealers and gave them an automatic 50 years in jail. No jail space, then have the drug dealers built one while they are in custody. If you caught the second time for dealing drugs, then you should pay with your life..you are killing other people and it is time you paid the price with YOUR life. Anyone, ANYONE dealing drugs is a murderer!.

[mljohns00]

Funny. About two weeks ago, a high Mexican official said, "All those headless bodies laying around are a sign that the drug cartels are getting desparate". That was the same day that Forbes announced that a Mexican drug lord was on the list of the richest men in the world.

I'm sure glad we are winning the War Against Drugs (c) 1969. I can't imagine what losing the War would look like.

[AJMarine12]

Posted by honestabe8 at 7:21 PM : Mar 24, 2009


Nice talking to you,have a good night.

Live Long and Prosper.

[honestabe8]

okay..gotta go now...cable guy's coming out tomorow and i want to make it look like less of a mess. be good, all.

[AJMarine12]

AJ: I agree about Canada

( I launch into my bad rendition of "Oh, Canada"....hey, I live 15 minutes away from Ontario...been watching Canadian TV all my life)

Posted by honestabe8 at 7:12 PM : Mar 24, 2009


I am in Ohio, about 6 hours away for Windsor and 8 hours from Niagara Falls.


I have a friend in Vancouver.

[honestabe8]

I have this stoner fantasy....some friends come over to share bud and talk about hydroponics....what feed, how much light, etc. everyone tries each other's product. i know people who do this, but since it is illegal, i am too dam chicken to risk the cops....my job, my pension, etc.

Ever been in a house where they have a couple mature plants? quite nice air freshener.