'Border Wars' to shed light on cartels Mexican ties to Brownsville

By Associated Press

Published 09:31 a.m., Sunday, November 20, 2011

Nov. 20--BROWNSVILLE -- The series producer of the TV show "Border Wars" has been in the area with a crew for six weeks and says he is fascinated with Brownsville.

Nicholas Stein and two other crew members spent part of their final day here Friday observing a U.S. Customs and Border Protection press conference about holiday travel, held at the Gateway International Bridge amid the bustle of traffic.

"People have no idea that part of the United States goes this deep into Mexico. They're really shocked when they actually pay attention to the map," Stein said of Brownsville.

The crew for "Border Wars," which has been airing on the National Geographic Channel since January 2010, has filmed area federal law enforcement and the Brownsville Police Department. The TV series documents the duties of authorities in a borderland facing the fallout of cartel drug violence in Mexico.

Facing the "Border Wars" camera, CBP spokesman Eddie Perez described his job, calling a relationship with media important because it allows information to go public.

"This is my dream job," Perez told the TV crew while standing in the secondary inspection area on the Gateway bridge.

Stein said it was the crew's third trip to the Rio Grande Valley.

"Illegal immigration and the drugs do flow into this town," he said. "Law enforcement, both Brownsville PD -- who we've worked with on this trip -- and the feds, have their work cut out for them."

"Border Wars" has aired more than 30 episodes so far. Stein said they have filmed in San Diego and Brownsville and places in between, including Nogales, El Paso and Laredo. He said that typically, four episodes are dedicated to each location. The crew has also been to Miami and Puerto Rico.

Stein thinks politics play a key role in discussing the border and its security, due in part because of Brownsville's far-south location, its connection to Mexico, and the violence that occurs on the other side.

"I would say the words 'spillover violence' are the most politically charged words in America today, or for anyone who pays attention to the border," he said. "It is a Rorschach test. Nobody has the same definition for it."

U.S. communities on the border are feeling the effects of a volatile time in neighboring Mexico.

"I don't know if people would want to turn back the clock to before the Mexican government went to war with the cartels, but I wouldn't blame them, partially, if they did because I don't think anybody understood the consequences of full blown war on the cartels," Stein said.

The series producer said he's observed the tight ties between the two countries in this area which have become stressed.

"You all were always tied together as one big community," he said. "First 9/11 sort of split you apart and now this narco war has torn families apart and affected people -- everyone knows somebody who is either scared to death or worse."

Stein said the access his crew has been given is "unprecedented" and has led them to accompany and witness chases, sometimes riding in helicopters and on horses or ATVs. The crew has also seen the evolution of coordination between the federal entities under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

He said he felt was an honor to have been able to live in the moment with agents and officers on the job.

"I decided we were going to try to do this show really real, really raw, really without a safety net -- live and operate as they do," he said.

Stein has high hopes for his documentaries.

"I like think that we not only tell people about the border, we almost take them to the border and make them feel how complex, challenging it is -- the human stories and dramas that unfold here," he said. "We get to show them in a really intimate way how intense and dramatic it is and how complex, and often sad, it can be."
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Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, Texas) at www.valleymorningstar.com

http://www.chron.com/news/article/Borde ... 279040.php