Free Republic

(CNSNews.Com) - Drug cartels operating along the southwestern U.S. border are a "country unto themselves" with intelligence capabilities, weaponry and communications equipment that far exceed the resources made available to local law enforcement in the U.S., according to sheriffs who have organized a new border security coalition. Sheriff Leo Samaniego of El Paso County, Texas, told Cybercast News Service that the same infrastructure that facilitates illegal immigration from Mexico creates enormous opportunities for heavily armed criminal enterprises like drug cartels and terrorists. "A lot of people make their living transporting illegal aliens," Samaniego said. "The 'coyotes' [as human smugglers are...