Thread: U.S. Sen. Cornyn to visit El Paso re: cartel violence

Cartel violence will be focus of U.S. Sen. Cornyn's visit to El Paso

Times staff report
Posted: 04/22/2010 12:33:50 PM MDT

PASO -- U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, will be in El Paso on Friday for a briefing by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies regarding cartel- and gang-related violence on the border.
He will have a classified briefing with the FBI, DEA, ICE and other agencies. Then Cornyn will host a roundtable at 12:15 p.m. with law officers.

Cornyn and fellow Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, also a Republican, sent a letter to President Obama in March after the murder of a pregnant El Pasoan who worked at the U.S. Consulate in Juárez. The woman's husband, a jailer in El Paso, also was shot dead in the attack in Juárez.

Assassins killed a third man, the husband of another consulate worker, the same day in Juárez.

The senators said they wanted action to "help quell the drug-related crime that has begun to spill over into our towns and cities." They also asked for more federal resources to be deployed to the border, and for Obama to visit the region.

See Friday's El Paso Times for comprehensive coverage on Cornyn's visit.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_14936817?source=pkg

What is the deal with all of these amnesty supporters visiting the border? Cornyn, McCain, etc. When did they really care -

that the borders are wide open,

that terrorists can simply skip on in,

that drug cartels have turned Arizona into a nightmare for far too many,

that the United States is doing a demographic flip flop, importing illiteracy and poverty from third world nations,

that Americans are getting killed,

that jobs are going to millions of illegal aliens,

that identities are stolen,

on and on

John 14:27
It is written,... Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Another visit? How many visits does it take for one of these Congressment who supposedly represent Texas to do something about what is going on?

Sen. John Cornyn briefed on Mexico cartel violence in El Paso
By Ramon Bracamontes \ El Paso Times
Posted: 04/24/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT


EL PASO -- Technology used by the U.S. military such as drones and sophisticated radar could help Mexico in its war against power drug cartels, Sen. John Cornyn said Friday in El Paso.

But sending troops into Mexico is not an option, he said.

Cornyn, R-Texas, spent most of the day getting an update on border security and the ongoing drug cartel war in Mexico, which has killed more than 20,000 people in the country and nearly 5,000 in Juárez alone.

On Monday, Lt. Gov. David Dew hurst also will be in El Paso to speak with local, state and federal law enforcement about the growing violence in Mexico and preventing spillover into Texas, said Rich Parson, his spokesman.

During his visit Friday, Cornyn talked to federal and local law enforcement agencies. The senator said he would do whatever he could to help them.

He also supports the Merida Initiative, as well as its second phase that is being constructed in Congress right now, he said. Under phase one, the United States is sending $1.4 billion to help Mexico and other countries reform their judicial systems and to train police agencies.

Money for phase two has not been finalized.

"I just wonder if it is doing enough to help Mexico," Cornyn said. "I will look to see where else we can help."

He is glad the U.S. government has sent several high-ranking officials to Mexico, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates, because the military has the training that Mexico needs to fight the cartels.

"In terms of technology that can be useful to Mexico and along the border region, the military is the best we have," Cornyn said. "They have unmanned drones that can be used anywhere and they have sophisticated radar and other equipment that no one else has.

"But as far as sending troops into Mexico, we are not going to do that. That is not an option."

After his meeting with law enforcement, Cornyn unveiled the components of his Southern Border Security Assistance Act, which is aimed at providing local law enforcement agencies with the resources needed to keep the U.S. side of the border safe.

"It is very important to the security and safety of the U.S. that we continue to help President (Felipe) Calderón in this fight against the cartels," Cornyn said.

Cornyn's bill:
# Creates a $300 million border grant specifically for law enforcement agencies within 100 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.
# Allows the local law enforcement agencies to use the money to buy night-viewing cameras, laptops and unmanned aerial vehicles.
# Allows agencies to buy vehicles and helicopters that can be used to combat drug trafficking.

The bill also calls for an increase in the number of federal judges and prosecutors along the U.S.-Mexico border.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_14949655? ... st_emailed