Flores: Terrorists are here
Flores: Terrorists are here
By ZACHARY FRANZ, LAREDO MORNING TIMES
09/20/2007
Laredo is emerging as a point of entry for aspiring terrorists, as the extremists try to take advantage of smuggling pipelines set up by drug cartels, Webb County Sheriff Rick Flores said in a speech Wednesday."We are possibly right smack in the middle of an area where sleeper cells are crossing from Mexico into the U.S.," he said.
Flores spoke at Laredo Medical Center to the Webb County Domestic Violence Coalition, but did not address domestic violence. Rather, Flores used the time to speak about the danger posed to Laredo by Mexican cartels, and to call on the federal government for increased funding to area law enforcement agencies.
Flores began the presentation with a series of graphic slides, depicting the victims of violence that may have been connected to drug trafficking. He said that the cartels have developed "tailor-made pipelines" for smuggling, and that terrorists have taken notice.
"The narco/human smuggling cartels have a clandestine channel in place, which people from Mideast countries of interest are viewing with increasing awareness," he said.
Flores said the Sheriff's Department needs federal money to hire more deputies, which he said are necessary to help protect America from another 9/11. Flores said terrorists have changed their tactics since new security measures made it more difficult for them to get visas to enter the U.S.
"The first time, (terrorists) came in legally; the next time, they're going to come illegally," he said. "They're not coming in here to work in the fields. They're coming with a different motive."
The Department of Homeland Security does give the sheriff's department money to help fight terrorism, but Flores said that money can only be used for certain things, like new equipment. The department can't use the money to hire new deputies, he said.
"What we need is more boots on the ground," he said. "Our guys are overworked."
The danger of terrorists entering the U.S. from Mexico is one of the most serious threats facing local law-enforcement, Flores said.
"We're talking about national security," he said. "It's not about sounding an alarm, it's about saying this in an issue we need to pay attention to."
(Contact reporter Zachary Franz at 728-2582 or by e-mail at zfranz@lmtonline.com)
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