Thread: Joint border patrols won't endanger US agents, official says

Joint border patrols won't endanger US agents, official says

Brady McCombs Arizona Daily Star
February 20, 2010 12:00 am
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

The unprecedented sharing of information and joint training and patrols that began recently between the U.S. Border Patrol and Mexican federal police along the Arizona-Sonora border won't put the United States in danger, a top Border Patrol official said Friday.

Concerns have been raised that the Border Patrol might be embedding itself too intimately with Mexican police that have been infiltrated by the drug cartels. In addition to training Mexican police on U.S. soil, the Border Patrol is sharing daily law enforcement information and creating joint strategies with Mexican federal police.

Background checks have been performed on all Mexican federal officers who are participating, said Robert Boatright, Border Patrol deputy patrol chief in the Tucson Sector. And information sharing had been going on already, just not officially as it is now, he said.

"There is a vetting process, so you have a trusted partner," Boatright said. "We are in a new day, a new age of cooperation."

But many are worried about the history of corruption in Mexico.

The local chapter of the National Border Patrol Council, the border agents' union, hopes the partnership succeeds but has concerns about corrupt Mexican police putting agents at risk, said Richard Martinez, vice president of Local 2544.

"We don't know how thorough the vetting is going to be with the people that are selected in the operation," said Martinez, who has been in the agency for 18 years.

He admits that if he finds himself in one of the joint operations, he'll be wondering if it's being run by corrupt cops so that a drug load or group of illegal immigrants can get by.

The union's concerns are valid, said George Grayson, a College of William & Mary professor and author of "Mexico: Narco Violence and a Failed State?"

Even if officers chosen for this program start off clean, they could be making themselves targets for the drug cartels, Grayson said.

"If they start to really act professionally as opposed to being intimidated or bribed, that could place them in greater danger," Grayson said. "I think these individuals will be vulnerable."

Danger is part of the job for law enforcement on both sides of the border, but it won't stop the operations, Boatright said.

"Fear of retaliation, fear of assault is something that law enforcement officers take as part of their creed," he said. "To not do the job because of that wouldn't be proper."

For two months, Border Patrol agents have been training Mexican federal police officers on firearms tactics, ATV patrols and tactical medicine on the U.S. side of the border, he said.

The partnership, which was unveiled this week by federal officials from both countries at a meeting in Mexico City, calls for sharing of information daily, synchronizing priorities and creating joint strategic plans. The goal is to jointly slow the flow of drugs and people north and guns and cash south.

Despite his concerns, Grayson said any initiative that aims to improve the professionalism of Mexican police officers should be viewed as a positive step.

"Working side-by-side with U.S. professionals certainly can't hurt," he said.

On StarNet:Go to azstarnet.com/news/local/ border for more border and immigration news.

"Fear of retaliation, fear of assault is something that law enforcement officers take as as part of their creed. To not do the job because of that wouldn't be proper."

Robert Boatright,

Border Patrol deputy patrol chief in the Tucson Sector

Contact reporter Brady McCombs at 573-4213 or bmccombs@azstarnet.com

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-an ... 18eb4.html

HUGE mistake!!! Look at what happened last time we trained mexican cops/military....they became the deadliest drug cartel around..anyone remember the Zetas??

Who does the "vetting"? Who verifies the officers ID? If it's Mexico, I wouldn't believe a word of it!

Putting our people in even more danger is not the answer. Sealing the border is!