Snagged
02-10-2006, 09:29 AM
The U.S.-Mexican Border's Hot Commodities, a la StratFor...
Drugs, Weapons and Violence: The U.S.-Mexican Border's Hot Commodities
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Feb. 3 that government
agents operating in the U.S.-Mexican border town of Laredo, Texas, had
seized a large cache of weapons and material for making improvised explosive
devices. At first glance, these weapons would seem intended for use in the
United States. Most likely, however, they were destined to cross the Rio
Grande into Nuevo Laredo, where rival Mexican drug cartels are fighting for
control.
Officials said the seizure occurred during a series of three raids conducted
in January by the Department of Homeland Security's Border Enforcement and
Security Task Force (BEST), a team comprising agents from ICE, the FBI, the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Laredo Police Department.
BEST, which is charged with stemming the flow of drugs and weapons back and
forth across the border, has seized numerous other caches of weapons, cash
and drugs in and around Laredo since October 2005. The success of the task
force has prompted Homeland Security to create similar forces in other
sectors of the border, and after it assesses the threat in Arizona, it will
set up a task force there.
The material seized in the January raids is the type often used in urban
warfare, which indicates the growing scope of violence on the border -- and
the potential for more. In some cases, rival gangs have fought battles in
Nuevo Laredo using heavy machine guns, assault rifles and even
rocket-propelled grenades. Mexican laws make it more difficult and more
costly to acquire weapons inside the country, as opposed to getting them
from the United States. Obtaining illegal drugs in Mexico, however, is
another matter entirely. Using contacts in the United States, then, the
Mexican gangs smuggle narcotics across the border and bring weapons back
into Mexico.
These drug gangs could be acquiring weapons from contacts in drug rings
operating on U.S. military bases near the border. Ongoing operations in
Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere have made fighting drug use by soldiers a
lower priority within the military. In addition, the constant flow of
materiel back and forth between the United States and combat theaters has
made it increasingly difficult to account for every piece of ordnance. With
pressure to recruit more troops, standards have been lowered, which has
opened the door to recruits with prior drug convictions. The Mexican gangs,
then, could be involving in-house dealers in weapons-for-drugs schemes.
Laredo is increasingly becoming a sanctuary for members of Mexico's various
drug cartels. Nuevo Laredo drug gangs use Texas the same way the Taliban and
al Qaeda use Pakistan: as a refuge from the fighting; a place where they --
theoretically -- can rest, regroup and plan further operations. The gangs
also use Laredo as a transshipment point for drugs going north and weapons
coming south, as evidenced by the BEST seizure.
In Afghanistan, however, the fighters seeking refuge on the Pakistani side
of the border are on the same side, with a common enemy in the U.S.-led
coalition and Afghan government. In Laredo, those supposedly seeking refuge
represent competing cartels, and they are bringing their fight with them
across the border. As a result, violent crime is increasing in Laredo as
well.
The Mexican government's efforts to contain the drug wars and related
violence in Nuevo Laredo have failed. On Feb. 6, for example, two gunmen
attacked the headquarters of Nuevo Laredo's El Maņana newspaper, purportedly
as a warning against publicizing the gang's activities. One reporter was
injured.
With the continuation of the gang wars in Mexico, and Laredo's new status a
sanctuary for rival gang members, the United States and Mexico will have to
cooperate if they hope to reverse the escalation of violence on both sides
of the border.
Drugs, Weapons and Violence: The U.S.-Mexican Border's Hot Commodities
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Feb. 3 that government
agents operating in the U.S.-Mexican border town of Laredo, Texas, had
seized a large cache of weapons and material for making improvised explosive
devices. At first glance, these weapons would seem intended for use in the
United States. Most likely, however, they were destined to cross the Rio
Grande into Nuevo Laredo, where rival Mexican drug cartels are fighting for
control.
Officials said the seizure occurred during a series of three raids conducted
in January by the Department of Homeland Security's Border Enforcement and
Security Task Force (BEST), a team comprising agents from ICE, the FBI, the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Laredo Police Department.
BEST, which is charged with stemming the flow of drugs and weapons back and
forth across the border, has seized numerous other caches of weapons, cash
and drugs in and around Laredo since October 2005. The success of the task
force has prompted Homeland Security to create similar forces in other
sectors of the border, and after it assesses the threat in Arizona, it will
set up a task force there.
The material seized in the January raids is the type often used in urban
warfare, which indicates the growing scope of violence on the border -- and
the potential for more. In some cases, rival gangs have fought battles in
Nuevo Laredo using heavy machine guns, assault rifles and even
rocket-propelled grenades. Mexican laws make it more difficult and more
costly to acquire weapons inside the country, as opposed to getting them
from the United States. Obtaining illegal drugs in Mexico, however, is
another matter entirely. Using contacts in the United States, then, the
Mexican gangs smuggle narcotics across the border and bring weapons back
into Mexico.
These drug gangs could be acquiring weapons from contacts in drug rings
operating on U.S. military bases near the border. Ongoing operations in
Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere have made fighting drug use by soldiers a
lower priority within the military. In addition, the constant flow of
materiel back and forth between the United States and combat theaters has
made it increasingly difficult to account for every piece of ordnance. With
pressure to recruit more troops, standards have been lowered, which has
opened the door to recruits with prior drug convictions. The Mexican gangs,
then, could be involving in-house dealers in weapons-for-drugs schemes.
Laredo is increasingly becoming a sanctuary for members of Mexico's various
drug cartels. Nuevo Laredo drug gangs use Texas the same way the Taliban and
al Qaeda use Pakistan: as a refuge from the fighting; a place where they --
theoretically -- can rest, regroup and plan further operations. The gangs
also use Laredo as a transshipment point for drugs going north and weapons
coming south, as evidenced by the BEST seizure.
In Afghanistan, however, the fighters seeking refuge on the Pakistani side
of the border are on the same side, with a common enemy in the U.S.-led
coalition and Afghan government. In Laredo, those supposedly seeking refuge
represent competing cartels, and they are bringing their fight with them
across the border. As a result, violent crime is increasing in Laredo as
well.
The Mexican government's efforts to contain the drug wars and related
violence in Nuevo Laredo have failed. On Feb. 6, for example, two gunmen
attacked the headquarters of Nuevo Laredo's El Maņana newspaper, purportedly
as a warning against publicizing the gang's activities. One reporter was
injured.
With the continuation of the gang wars in Mexico, and Laredo's new status a
sanctuary for rival gang members, the United States and Mexico will have to
cooperate if they hope to reverse the escalation of violence on both sides
of the border.