Mexican drug cartels called biggest crime threat to U.S.
By EILEEN SULLIVAN Associated Press
March 12, 2009, 12:30PM

WASHINGTON — A top Homeland Security official told a House panel today that Mexican drug cartels are the biggest organized crime threat to the United States.

Homeland Security official Roger Rufe said a department plan to respond to escalating violence on the Southwest border includes— as a last resort — deploying military personnel and equipment to the region if homeland security agencies become overwhelmed.


Rufe, echoing comments a day earlier from President Barack Obama, said now is not the time to militarize the Southwest border.

“We would take all resources short of DoD and National Guard troops before we reach that tipping point,â€