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Conchita Sarnoff
Posted: December 22, 2009 10:24 AM

THE CAT IS OUT OF THE BAG

In the last few year spent traveling to Mexico it became clear that Mexican drug syndicates are in control of the Mexico-U.S. border. To make matters worse a great percentage of Mexican politicians and law enforcement officials on both sides of the border are on the take. So now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag what are we to do?

Since the beginning of the last decade the Mexican 'cartels' have managed to intimidate a good percentage of U.S. Border Patrol and Ice and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to the point where they have been rendered ineffective. Just read a few of the national dailies during the past two weeks and you'll get the drift.

Everyone moans on "ink": policy wonks, expert reporters, government officials, law enforcement agents, public opinion and even convicted criminals who "sang" long before they were locked away, yet the White House doesn't listen.

You would think that State Department and DOJ have collected enough evidence to create a forward thinking strategy? Wrong! NO ONE wants to take responsibility to sort out the existing quesadilla and of course State isn't remotely close to deciphering the cultural divide.

Could a lack of interest be the problem? As my colleague Andres Oppenheimer reminded me when he interviewed President-elect Obama and asked him to name five Latin American Presidents. He disgracefully stumbled on three.

Unlike many of our unprepared officials the Mexican Ambassador to the United States Arturo Sarukhan is one of the most intellectually sophisticated and by far the most astute representative that Mexico has appointed in a very long time. So why aren't we moving quickly with him on our team? I suppose it's the same old case of "who's on first"?

Mexico's President Felipe Calderon, is also a man of vision and a loyal friend to the United States. Since the beginning of his administration, be it to "legitimize his presidency", as Mexico's Former Minister Jorge Castaneda points out in his latest book Narco: La Guerra Fallida, or to solidify the same respect and trust that Colombia's President Uribe accomplished a few years back during the Bush administration, he has worked tirelessly to improve security issues and build bridges of trust between our two nations. To this day attempting to curb corruption and illicit trade between the two nations are at the cornerstone of his foreign policy agenda.

Despite our best efforts however, the United States continues to rebuke and offend. Our excuses are innumerable: we don't have the resources, the budget, or the adequate manpower to enforce security. Well boys what do we have?

Until a few months back we had only a ranting Lou Dobbs. Thank goodness everything is finite. Today if you want to learn about the real issues facing our country Vis-a-Vis Mexico please don't watch the networks since they have an unwritten law about excluding some challenging issues. Just pitch any network news director worth his salt an immigration-focused segment and you'll see what happens... He'll blink his eyes so wide you'll think he turned into Bambi!

I can almost guarantee that if we continue to walk down the same political minefield we will surely have fewer resources left to negotiate and certainly a ticking time bomb amidst our garden. You will see that in much the same way that Miami imploded during the drug wars of the eighties, remember "Miami Vice", we're about to implode in the southwestern states of our country.

And so for those of you who share my love and respect for Mexico yet have a nagging concern for our safety and that of our children you'll agree that in the spirit of neighborly affection we should pressure our government to become forward thinking in developing a mutually beneficial strategy and resolute in their tactical executions. And I mean sooner rather than later.


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