Thread: Mexico acknowledges 'degenerating' border

Mexico acknowledges 'degenerating' border
www.dallasnews.com

Official comment on violence represents shift, signals worry


08:05 PM CDT on Friday, June 10, 2005


By ALFREDO CORCHADO and ANGELA KOCHERGA / The Dallas Morning News


MEXICO CITY – The Mexican government, which in the past has bristled at U.S. criticism about border violence, said Friday that it shares its northern neighbor's concerns and reaffirmed a "frontal assault" on drug traffickers terrorizing the region.

On Thursday, U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza described the situation in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas state, as "rapidly degenerating" and parts of the border as "near-lawlessness."

Mexico's official shift appeared to signal the government's increasing worry that the violence in northern states is "out of control," as one Mexican official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, acknowledged Friday.

It also suggests that an "honest and frank" assessment by both countries is part of the solution, Mr. Garza said Friday.

In his remarks a day earlier, Mr. Garza was reacting to the shooting death of Nuevo Laredo Police Chief Alejandro DomÃÂ*nguez, 54, gunned down Wednesday just hours after he took his new post. Friends and relatives attended a wake Friday for Chief DomÃÂ*nguez, whose body was to be cremated later in the day.

In the past, the Mexican government has reacted angrily to Mr. Garza's statements, invoking the country's sovereignty and accusing the ambassador of meddling in Mexican affairs.

"Ultimately we are all better off when we are honest and frank about the challenges we face," Mr. Garza said in the interview with Belo Television. "Until we acknowledge them, we're not going to address them."

"There's a bit more realism creeping into the response," added Mr. Garza, a native of Brownsville who has been vocal about the violence along the border.

At a media briefing, Rubén Aguilar, spokesman for President Vicente Fox, said his government recognized "the violence in the northern region. It can't be ignored."

Aside from a brief Foreign Ministry statement late Thursday, Mr. Aguilar's comments were the first official government reaction to the DomÃÂ*nguez slaying. Officials from the attorney general's office in Mexico City, in the Tamaulipas capital, Ciudad Victoria, and in the presidential office all had refused to comment.

"The struggles against organized crime in Mexico's border zone is a joint commitment, and an action that implies the co-responsibility of the two countries," said Mr. Aguilar, adding that those views had been shared with Mr. Garza.

Mr. Aguilar said there had been "a breakdown of society in some parts of the country" but insisted the government was in firm control of the nation and that Mexico and the U.S. must work together on the issue.

"This is a problem in which the United States also shares responsibility, and that can be solved only through the mutual action of both countries," Mr. Aguilar said.

Sixx says: We don't share responsibility for your criminal class of vermin, you miscreant. Take charge of YOUR country and we can control OURS. Shut up, FOOL

In Mexico, almost 600 people have been killed in connection with the drug trade this year, and some estimates are higher. More than 100 of those killings have occurred in Tamaulipas.

Business and political officials are concerned because about 40 percent of the U.S.-Mexico land trade goes through the Nuevo Laredo-Laredo region and on to the Interstate 35 corridor, known as the NAFTA highway.

Sixx says: Gotta keep those Mexican trucks with no brakes coming.

The U.S. has issued a travel advisory for the area and has extended it twice.

In the interview, Mr. Garza stressed that the U.S. government will continue to work with the Mexican government, offering resources and sharing information and law enforcement expertise.

But "ultimately it is a decision of the Mexican government to commit the resources, to show the resolve and recognize it has to be an ongoing commitment," he said.

He added, "I don't think we've seen the last of the blood in the streets, sadly."

Sixx says: You got that right. You either muzzle these barbarians by October or DNA won't be able to identify those illegal aliens.

Sixx says: They are acutely aware of the MMP in Texas and they know that TEXANS have had ENOUGH!!! All of a sudden it's about "cooperation" and acknowleging what I have known for years. Sorry, but it is too LATE

Alfredo Corchado is a Dallas Morning News staff writer, and Angela Kocherga is bureau chief of Belo Television in Mexico City.

Email acorchado@dallasnews.com and akocherga@belo-dc.com

Damn, Sixx! You are working those little anger "smiley faces" overtime!

This article is yet another great reason to NOT merge with Mexico. We CANNOT absorb their self-inflicted problems without disastrous consequences.

"Ultimately we are all better off when we are honest and frank about the challenges we face," Mr. Garza said in the interview with Belo Television. "Until we acknowledge them, we're not going to address them."

You haven't done much so far except talk, so I am not confident you will actually DO something beside talk.