Sanctions against Mexico possible this year

AUSTIN — The United States could impose sanctions before the end of the year in retaliation for Mexico’s failure to honor a water treaty, a federal government official has confirmed.

International Boundary and Water Commission Commissioner Carlos M. Ramirez told a state Senate border affairs committee hearing Thursday that he was not at liberty to discuss the State Department’s "plans," but did testify on halting the delivery of water to Mexico from the Colorado River.

"There are plans that will be put in motion against Mexico," Ramirez said after submitting four-pages of written testimony to the committee chaired by Brownsville state Sen. Eddie Lucio.

"Possible sanctions are being discussed in Washington right now but I am not at liberty to say what they are. It is possible they could be imposed before the end of the year."

Texas Citrus Mutual Executive Vice President Ray Prewett, who also testified at the hearing, said Rio Grande Valley farmers had learned from experience to take Ramirez’s comments with "a pinch of salt."

Harlingen Irrigation District General Manager Wayne Halbert agreed and said Ramirez was not routinely "kept in the loop" by the State Department on water treaty negotiations.

"We have not heard that a decision has yet been made. If Carlos Ramirez knows about it then the whole world would know about it," Halbert said.

Ramirez, a former El Paso mayor who was appointed to the IBWC last year by President Bush, said additional negotiations would take place later this month to "again urge Mexico to commit to a water delivery plan for the coming season."

Those negotiations are expected to be headed by Secretary of State Colin Powell at a binational meeting with Mexico’s Foreign Relations Secretary Jorge Castaneda and other cabinet members in Mexico City on Nov. 25-26.

Tony Garza, the United States’ newly appointed ambassador to Mexico, is expected to attend the meetings. Lucio, D-Brownsville, called Garza’s appointment the "biggest victory" Valley farmers had so far in the long-running dispute.

Under a 1944 treaty, Mexico is required to deliver an average of 350,000 acre-feet of water per year to the United States, mostly from the Rio Conchos Basin in Chihuahua. In return, the United States must deliver 1.5 million acre-feet of water per year to Mexico from the Colorado River.

While the United States has complied with the treaty, Mexico, claiming extraordinary drought, has been falling increasingly behind in its repayments since 1992. Mexico knows the United States more than 1.5 million acre-feet of water.

Prewett, a founder member of Texans for Treaty Compliance, said state officials expect Mexico to make internal water allocation decisions for the coming year "any day now." He said that if there is no consideration of honoring the 1944 treaty, there would be no water left to allocate to the United States.

"The next few weeks could be the most critical on this issue that we have seen in the last ten years," Prewett added.

Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs unveiled a map at the hearing showing rich, green, irrigated land in the Delicias district of Chihuahua. Combs said Mexico now has almost three million acre-feet of water in storage in Chihuahua, twice as much as the United States has in its two international dams, Amistad and Falcon.

Combs said she was appalled to learn that Mexico had sought funding from the North American Development Bank to build two-foot high "lips" on Chihuahua reservoirs to hold additional water. Improved storage capacity in the state had led to "explosive growth" in Chihuahua agricultural production, Combs said.

"What has been particularly galling is the fruit and vegetables coming in from the Delicias district, coming in over the backs of our farmers," Combs said. "To think we have that stuff coming into our H-E-Bs, Fiesta, and other supermarkets is very painful," Combs said after the meeting.

Combs again called on the United States government to look at blocking Colorado River water from reaching Mexico and restricting beef imports from Mexico.

Jo Jo White, general manager of Mercedes Irrigation District, gave the most impassioned speech of the day, berating President Bush and Gov. Rick Perry for "paying lip service" to the needs of Texas agriculture.

In his written testimony, White questioned whether Washington’s refusal to address the treaty violation was due to the fact that South Texas overwhelmingly elects Democrats.

"South Texas is still part of the United States and deserves the same protection that any other region in the United States is afforded. Lack in obtaining this legal treaty protection will further lead to the demise of the region," White said.

Gordon Hill, general manager of Bayview Irrigation District agreed, claiming Mexico was using "economic and political warfare" against the United States.

Newly elected Attorney General Greg Abbott said he would use "any and all legal tools... to get the water we deserve."

Jeff Boyd, the attorney general’s deputy director of litigation, told the hearing the state would face "very significant legal obstacles" in suing Mexico, Chihuahua or the United States over the treaty.

Lucio said the committee heard "excellent testimony" on the best route for pressuring Mexico into repaying the 1.5 million acre-feet of water debt.

"However, I intend to continue exploring any legal avenues available to us," Lucio said.