Mexico’s Southern Flank: a Crime-Ridden “Third U.S. Border”

Foreign Policy Research Institute ^ | March 22, 2005 | George W. Grayson

[45Auto]

Washington cannot ignore Mexico’s southern border when crafting a program to protect U.S. security. First, if it hasn’t provided a portal already, Chiapas presents an inviting gateway for terrorists determined to strike a blow against the U.S.

Second, the Mara Salvatruchas, who have spread throughout Mexico, also commit treacherous acts along the Rio Grande and on America’s East and West Coasts. Third, Mexico’s Tijuana, Juarez, and Gulf drug cartels exert enormous influence in the three border cities through which 80 percent of bilateral commerce flows. These well-heeled mafias obtain a portion of their supplies from networks that pass through Central America. They have flexed their muscles in recent months with a September 11, 2004, daylight shooting in Culiacan, the murder-plagued capital of Sinaloa state and home to many narco-families. On New Year’s Eve, a fellow inmate assassinated the brother of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, chief of the immensely powerful Juarez Cartel, in La Palma prison near Mexico City. Three weeks later, in retaliation for a federal crackdown on prisons, criminals executed six staff members outside the high-security prison in Matamoras. This city on the Texas border is home to the infamous Gulf Cartel, which, in alliance with the Tijuana Cartel, competes for turf with Guzman’s Juarez band. The Zetas, composed of well-trained ex-Mexican army personnel, constitute a lethal paramilitary arm of the Gulf Cartel that can battle foes on both sides of the frontier.

Finally, compelling evidence gathered over the last fifty years confirms that:

Guest-worker programs and amnesties serve to expand, not decrease, illegal immigration. While the introduction of more personnel and sophisticated surveillance equipment at borders is vital, such moves will only bear fruit in conjunction with the concerted prosecution of those employers who hire unlawful workers.

[45Auto]

"On March 23, President George W. Bush will host his Mexican and Canadian counterparts at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. A prime topic on the trilateral agenda will be the porosity of the borders between the U.S. and its neighbors to the north and south.

In anticipation of this session, Mexican President Vicente Fox has played the victimization card. At a March 16 press conference, he stated that new walls running along parts of the U.S.-Mexico frontier “must be demolished” because they are “discriminatory” and “against freedom.” “No country that is proud of itself should build walls,” he added. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Conditions along the Rio Grande bear heavily on national security, and President Bush must not allow President Fox to dominate the parleys with self-serving tirades about U.S. policy. In addition to ensuring the security of the U.S.- Canada and U.S.-Mexico borders, North American decision makers must focus on the 600-mile Mexican-Guatemalan interface. Mexico’s southern flank—an open sesame for drug traffickers, illegal aliens, smugglers, and terrorists— constitutes a porous, crime-ridden, and largely neglected third border of the United States."

[Eric in the Ozarks]

"...compelling evidence gathered over fifty years..."

[FreePaul]

Mexico's "Souhern Flank" crime ridden? Why should it be any different from the rest of Mexico including the part already in the US?

[FreePaul]

Mexico's "Southern Flank" crime ridden? Why should it be any different from the rest of Mexico including the part already in the US?