Mexican Troops Aiding Smugglers, Report Says

A report outlining hundreds of incursions into the United States by Mexican armed forces over the past 10 years supports what many officials have known for a long time: The corruption once thought endemic only to Mexico's police forces has spread to its military.

The Daily Bulletin reported Sunday on a Department of Homeland Security document that outlines 216 incidents since 1996 where Mexican military personnel crossed the U.S.-Mexican border and were spotted or confronted by the Border Patrol.

Additionally, a map bearing the seal of the president's Office of National Drug Control Policy, dated 2001, shows the locations of 34 of those incursions spread across the southwest United States.

The documents are a striking reminder that steps intended to bolster official action in the drug war can backfire in unexpected ways.

During the past decade, Mexico's military has become involved with anti-drug efforts to a greater degree than ever before, a trend furthered by President Vicente Fox in 2001, when he disbanded the nation's federal judicial police, saying it was too corrupt to successfully fight drug trafficking.

However, while the Mexican armed forces once had a better reputation for avoiding corruption than the nation's police departments, the huge amount of available bribes means many soldiers and high-ranking army officials are now on the payroll of the cartels, according to a report from the Washington Office on Latin America, a nonprofit policy and research organization.

Dozens of officers, including several generals, have been tried for crimes related to drug trafficking in the past 10 years. In 1997, Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo was accused of using military resources to target one drug cartel at the behest of another. He was later sentenced to 71 years in prison.

Ironically, involving the military in Mexico's drug war has done little to slow the production of illicit drugs or their movement into the United States. The Drug Enforcement Administration's seizures of heroin, cocaine and marijuana have remained relatively steady during the past five years.

"Available data indicate that Mexico's supply of marijuana and heroin to the United States has not changed substantially; transport of cocaine through Mexico to U.S. cities also appears to have remained relatively stable," the nonprofit's report found. "Furthermore, Mexican cartels are responsible for a growing trade in methamphetamines."

Deserters from Mexico's military are known to work for drug cartels, including a paramilitary unit called Los Zetas -- a U.S.-trained anti-narcotics force connected to violence as far north of the border as Dallas.

Officials at the Department of Homeland Security did not return calls for comment Monday.

Mexican officials contacted by the Daily Bulletin denied that the military has crossed the U.S. border at all in the past 10 years, except on occasions when units got lost in the desert.

Rafael Laveaga, a spokesman for the Mexican consulate in Washington, D.C., said the incursions recorded by the Border Patrol could have resulted from drug smugglers using bogus uniforms to disguise themselves.

But T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, discounted that idea.

"On many instances, (officers) can confirm that these are Mexican military units," Bonner said. "There's corruption there. The drug lords have been able to buy the military and police, and it makes it difficult for us to cooperate."

Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., said he was shown a report by the Border Patrol in 2001 that detailed incursions by military units. His complaints to the State Department and Mexican ambassador were brushed off, he said.

"The military is as dirty as any other part" of the government, Tancredo said. "They're part of the cartels, or many are. It's all got to do with money and drugs -- and it's bad."

Related Stories: • Mexican soldiers defy border • Border agents unaware of gang death threat • Report: MS-13 gang hired to murder Border Patrol Special Report: Beyond Borders Blog Site: Beyond Borders Blog ONLINE EXTRA: Official Homeland Security memo download inside article

Here's an article from another thread that reveals 216 known incursions by the Mexican Military:

Here's another article, based on a Homeland Security Report:

Mexican soldiers defy border

Homeland Security report: 216 incursions into U.S. made by Mexican military

By Sara A. Carter, Staff Writer
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

The Mexican military has crossed into the United States 216 times in the past nine years, according to a Department of Homeland Security document and a map of incursions obtained by the Daily Bulletin.

U.S. officials claim the incursions are made to help foreign drug and human smugglers cross safely into the United States. The 2001 map, which shows 34 of the incursions, bears the seal of the president's Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The document states that since 1996, Mexican military personnel have crossed into the following Border Patrol sectors:

• San Diego County, 17 times

• El Centro, 58

• Yuma, Ariz., 24

• Tucson, Ariz., 39

• El Paso, Texas, 33

• Marfa, Texas, eight

• Del Rio, Texas, three

• Laredo, Texas, six

• Rio Grande Valley, Texas, 28.

White House officials would not comment on the map and referred questions to officials at the Department of Homeland Security.

Kristi Clemens, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, would not confirm the number of incursions, but said Saturday the department is in ongoing discussions with the Mexican government about them.

‘‘We -- the Department of Homeland Security and the CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) -- are determined to gain control of the border and will continue to collaborate with our partners on the border,'' Clemens said.

Border Patrol agents say they for several years have reported sightings and confrontations with Mexican military inside the United States, which the Daily Bulletin documented last year in Beyond Borders, the newspaper's series about immigration.

‘‘We've had armed showdowns with the Mexican army,'' said a border agent who spoke on condition of anonymity. ‘‘These aren't just ex-military guys. These are Mexican army officials assisting drug smugglers.''

In one 2000 incident, more than 16 Mexican soldiers were arrested by border agents in a small town west of El Paso, in Santa Teresa, N.M., after Mexican soldiers fired on the agents, said T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a union representing the agents.

None of the agents was injured in the gun battle, and U.S. State Department officials forced the border agents to release the soldiers and return them to Mexico with their weapons, Bonner added.

‘‘If (Mexico) is going to put military across our border to threaten our guys, and if their own government can't control it, then we should be treating this as an act of war,'' he said.

Mexican government officials said they have neither seen the report nor the map, and they dispute the findings, stating that at no time in recent years have military personnel crossed the border into the United States.

‘‘I strongly deny any incursion by the Mexican military on United States soil,'' said Rafael Laveaga, spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C.

‘‘When it comes to Mexican military on the southern side, I have no reports of them crossing into the United States. That would mean that the patrol got lost or lack of expertise and orientation. This could be smugglers with fake uniforms as a tactic to confuse the authorities.''

Laveaga added that Mexico's law enforcement agencies work closely with the FBI, Office of National Drug Control Policy and other U.S. agencies to assist in the capture of drug cartel members.

Further, Laveaga contended that wealthy smugglers can afford fake uniforms and can camouflage their vehicles to resemble those of the military.

‘‘Some incursions do occur by smugglers both on the northbound and southbound sides of the border,'' Laveaga said. ‘‘Whenever these incidents occur, both governments have a mechanism to communicate with each other to let each other know what's going on.''

In the Tucson sector -- where many border agents reported run-ins with Mexican military -- the U.S. Department of Customs and Border Protection formally issued a card to agents with tips on how to deal with incursions by Mexican soldiers. The Daily Bulletin first reported of the card last year.

The ‘‘Military Incursion'' card states that ‘‘Mexican Military are trained to escape, evade, and counter-ambush if it will effect their escape.''

Further, the card asks agents who come across Mexican soldiers to keep a low profile and use shadows to camouflage and hide.

Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., said the numbers show that suggestions for increasing Border Patrol resources or building a fence along the border won't do enough to secure it.

‘‘It is a military problem,'' said Tancredo, who supports immigration reform. ‘‘We should commit the military to the border -- tomorrow. I mean, with armor and weapons.''

Speaking by phone from El Paso, the congressman recalled his own confusion and disbelief when Border Patrol officials first told him of the incursions several years ago.

But the more time he spent at the border, the more he realized how serious the problem is, Tancredo said.

‘‘Down here, there are war stories where you have Mexican military pulling up when drug traffickers are coming across, cocking their weapons, challenging our guys,'' he said ‘‘Shots have been fired. ... This is a problem here. I don't think anybody understands it unless they're here.''

Lt. George Moreno, who has been with the Imperial County Sheriff's Department for 20 years, said that he was surprised to hear about the 22 Mexican incursions reported during 2002 in the El Centro sector, 110 miles east of San Diego.

‘‘I've heard rumors that it's been happening,'' Moreno said. ‘‘A lot of these types of incidents are dealt with at a federal level. It's not brought down to our level unless it really concerns us.''

Border Patrol agents also are the target of the international Mara Salvatrucha street gang, whose members Mexican smugglers plan to bring across the border and pay to kill U.S. agents, according to a confidential Homeland Security alert obtained by the Daily Bulletin last week.

Jim Gilchrist, co-founder of the Minuteman Project, a civilian volunteer group that has monitored the border since April, said that Congress must address the serious nature of the military incursions.

‘‘That number is 20 times larger than even the Minuteman project organizers are aware of,'' Gilchrist said, referring to the 216 documented incursions. ‘‘But I'm not surprised at that number. There are significant drug and human cargo cartels involving Mexican military threatening Americans at the border. But our Congress has turned a blind eye to it because what the American people don't know won't bother them -- that's how our representatives think.''

Staff Writers Mason Stockstill and Wendy Leung contributed to this report.

Sara A. Carter can be reached by e-mail at sara.carter@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-8552.

Report: MS-13 gang hired to murder Border Patrol

By Sara A. Carter and Mason Stockstill, Staff Writers

Mexican alien smugglers plan to pay violent gang members and smuggle them into the United States to murder Border Patrol agents, according to a confidential Department of Homeland Security memo obtained by the Daily Bulletin.

The Officer Safety Alert, dated Dec. 21, warns agents that the smugglers intend to bring members of the international Mara Salvatrucha street gang also known as MS-13 into the country for the deadly mission.

"Unidentified Mexican alien smugglers are angry about the increased security along the U.S./Mexico border and have agreed that the best way to deal with U.S. Border Patrol agents is to hire a group of contract killers," the alert states.

MS-13, which has a strong base in El Salvador, is considered by the FBI to be one of the most dangerous gangs in the United States, with more than 20,000 members.

Gang members have been found in 33 states and connected to murder, racketeering, assault, rapes and extortion. Last January, Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided six cities and made more than 100 arrests of MS-13 gang members.

Intelligence officials last year reported that MS-13 gang members had been linked to terrorists seeking entry into the country.

Michael Friel, a representative with the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said he could not comment directly on the memo, but noted "this wouldn't be the first time agents' lives have been threatened.

"It's no surprise that these smugglers, these criminals, would be threatening our agents," he added. "And that would be a huge mistake on their part if they try."

The alert was labeled "for official use only," meaning that while it does not contain classified information, it is not to be made public or released to the media. It also is required to be stored in a locked container and "burned or shredded" when it is no longer needed.

The memo was issued based on information from a report issued by the FBI. An FBI spokesman reached by telephone in Washington said he could not comment on that report.

A Border Patrol agent who spoke on condition of anonymity said agents in the field have been worried since the release of the alert in December.

"It's not just people coming over here to pick lettuce. These gang members, criminals, are endangering American lives," the agent said.

"Our vests won't stop a rifle bullet, and many of us out here feel like sitting ducks," he added.

Over the past year, Border Patrol agents have warned they are facing more danger than ever before along the divide between the two countries. Many believe stepped-up enforcement by the United States has led to a similar increase in violence by drug smugglers and border crossers.

Last week, agents in Texas reported two separate incidents in which someone fired on them from the Mexican side of the border. Officers in Arizona were issued pocket-sized cards last year with suggested maneuvers in case they encounter Mexican military troops while on patrol.

On Dec. 30, a Border Patrol agent shot and killed an 18-year-old Mexican man agents said had thrown a rock at U.S. officials after crossing the border.

Rep. David Dreier, R-Glendora, chairman of the House Rules Committee and one of the GOP's immigration reform advocates, said security for Border Patrol agents is essential.

"First of all, we need to provide Border Patrol agents with all the resources they need to protect themselves, we need to hire more agents, and we need to make sure we're tracking and targeting gangs coming across the border," Dreier said Monday night. "The security of our agents is of the upmost concern."

T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, an association representing agents, said Monday that the Homeland Security alert is more proof agents often are putting their lives at risk. Assaults on agents doubled last year, according to Bonner.

"MS-13 has shown that its members have very little regard for human life," he said. "Some of the atrocities they have committed are truly unspeakable, and it worries me to know that our agents on the line are now the targets. I don't know what it's going to take to wake up the folks in Washington."

Some anti-illegal immigrant organizations blame the Bush administration for what they say is a lackadaisical attitude about border security.

"The president still acts like Mexico is a friendly neighbor, when in reality it's the complete opposite," said Andy Ramirez, chairman of Friends of the Border Patrol, a Chino organization that supports border agents. "Border Patrol agents' lives are in extremely high danger, and yet the public isn't notified. When are they going to realize that threats against our law-enforcement officers are threats against this nation?"

Sara A. Carter can be reached by e-mail at sara.carter@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-8552.

Mason Stockstill can be reached by e-mail at mason.stockstill@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 386-9354.

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