Mexico drug violence not spilling into U.S.; security 'better than ever': Napolitano

BY Larry Mcshane
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, March 25th 2011, 12:43 PM


A US Border Patrol officer keeps watch over the border fence that divides the US from Mexico in the town of Nogales, Ariz.

The perception of Mexican drug cartel violence spilling into U.S. border towns is flat-out inaccurate, U.S. Homeland Security boss Janet Napolitano insisted Friday.

Napolitano, speaking in El Paso, Texas, declared that security along the southern U.S. border is at an all-time high.

Do the borders seem more secure to you?

No, I feel that I am hearing more stories than ever of border crimes. 90%
Yes, the violence seems contained to Mexico. 5%
Not sure 6%

"There is a perception that the border is worse now than it has ever been," Napolitano said Friday in El Paso, Texas. "That is wrong. The border is better now than it ever has been."

As for crime, the image of Mexican drug violence contaminating U.S. border cities is "wrong again," she said.


U.S. Homeland Security boss Janet Napolitano with California National Guard troops. (Pool)

Violent crime rates are either flat or dropping in Southwest border communities, she said.

To ensure those numbers remain the same, Napolitano said her department would deploy another 250 border agents in the region - and hopes to add 300 more under the agency's next budget.

Homeland Security was investing "millions of dollars in the side of commerce and trade" to upgrade technology and infrastructure along the border, Napolitano added.

The Homeland Security chief acknowledged there was still much to do in dealing with Mexican drug lords.

Since President Felipe Calderon declared a renewed effort against the Mexican cartels in 2006, more than 34,000 drug-related slayings have been reported.

lmcshane@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2 ... itano.html