Mexican military incursions pose border risks

December 27, 2008 - 7:21 p.m.

Corrupt Mexican military and law enforcement units pose a criminal and national security threat to our country and its citizens. Since 1996, there have been more than 278 confirmed incursions by Mexican military units and police officers into the United States. More than 109 of the incursions took place in the last five years alone. These violations of U.S. territorial sovereignty go largely unpunished and are routinely handled as administrative complaints between the U.S. and Mexican governments.

While some Mexican government incursions are accidental or result when police pursue suspects across the U.S. border, others are far more troubling. Official U.S. Border Patrol reports - obtained by Judicial Watch under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act - show that in some instances, Mexican police and military officials are closely involved in drug trafficking. Memos from the U.S. Border Patrol have revealed that Mexican drug cartels are crossing increasingly farther into the United States in order to distance themselves from rival drug cartels. For years, drug traffickers have used Mexican military personnel to aid their operations by providing security for the drug shipment and distracting U.S. law enforcement officers by ruse and demonstration tactics along the border. As drug activity moves farther north into the United States, illegal military incursions increase as a result.

Mexican incursion reports describe incidents involving shots fired on both sides of the border, unmarked helicopters invading U.S. airspace, and drug smuggling. In 2005, Mexican soldiers crossed the border along the Rio Grande Valley. When a Border Patrol Agent went by boat to examine the scene, "the [Border Patrol] Agent on board advised via radio that several Mexican soldiers were pointing their rifles in his direction. The Agent decided for his safety and the safety of the crew to turn back, but advised that the soldiers were still aiming at them." Again in 2005, Border Patrol agents stationed in Tucson "heard four distinct gunshots coming from Mexico. The gunshots were fired when the agents were approximately 10 feet away." On April 23, 2007, in Arizona, "Border Patrol Agents . reported a Mexican military incursion ... in Humvees carrying long arms . The agents continued to back away from the [soldiers] when they heard [one] soldier chamber a round into his rifle. The agents observed . that the military personnel had fanned out in a tactical formation on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico International Boundary."

Reports also show the relation between Mexican government personnel and drug trafficking. In 2003, Border Patrol agents sighted a Mexican military boat that was found to be transporting almost 3,000 pounds of marijuana. In July 2007, six men dressed in tan-colored military clothing were observed near Patagonia, Ariz. They were armed with automatic rifles and appeared to be carrying narcotics on their backs. In August 2007, a Ford F-150 passed into Calexico, Calif. When U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped the vehicle, the driver, a Mexican federal agent, was armed with a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle and a semi-automatic pistol. When U.S. agents performed a vehicle search, they found "guns, ammunition, narcotics, night vision equipment, cell phones, a walkie-talkie and a ski mask."

Some drug traffickers appear to have hired Mexican military to conduct home invasions within the United States. Earlier this year, six men crossed the border into Arizona. They were dressed in Mexican Army uniforms and body armor, and carried AR-15 assault rifles.

The men were thought to be members of the Mexican Army, and to have had military training.

The men conducted a home invasion and fired more than 100 rounds of ammunition, killing one person.

According to police reports, the men were hired by Mexican drug traffickers.

Three of the men were captured, and when questioned one of them said that the group had been fully prepared to ambush the police but ran out of ammunition.

The rampant corruption in Mexican military and law enforcement is not simply a "Mexican problem."

It is having a corrosive and often dangerous effect on the U.S. side of the border.

With increasing sophistication in communications and smuggling techniques, combined with the deadliest weaponry, conventional U.S. law enforcement is simply no match for the criminal racketeers who engage in drug and human smuggling.

One wonders what level of crisis or tragedy will force Homeland Security, Justice and Defense Department officials to adequately address the security and law enforcement requirements of our southern border.

It is now quite easy to imagine a days-long pitched battle between Mexican Army elements and a detachment of the U.S. Border Patrol's "BORTAC" - the Border Patrol Tactical Unit.

The only questions remaining are: When will it happen? And, how will the United States government finally respond to this long-neglected national vulnerability?

Chris Farrel is director of investigations for Judicial Watch, a nonprofit that investigates and prosecutes government corruption.

www.victoriaadvocate.com