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Article Last Updated: 2/09/2006 01:20 AM


Senator Boxer calls for Mexican president's support

By Wendy Leung, Staff Writer
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

In a letter to Mexican President Vicente Fox, California Sen. Barbara Boxer called for increased efforts at securing the border in light of recent reports of Mexican military crossing into the U.S.

The letter, drafted Wednesday, stated, "Maintaining the integrity of the U.S.-Mexico border is critical to preventing crime and acts of terrorism, and to assuring the economic stability of both our nations. That is why our two nations must deal swiftly and severely with any violations of border policy."

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, held a closed-door meeting Friday in El Paso with federal and local law enforcement officers prior to Tuesday's congressional hearing on the incidents.

"Sen. Boxer is very concerned of the situation and (views) those two meetings as very important, but she felt the letter was also needed," said Natalie Ravitz, Boxer's spokeswoman.

Tuesday's hearing, which will be followed by another in the Senate next month, took place in the wake of an armed standoff last month in Hudspeth County involving armed men dressed in Mexican military uniforms. Mexican officials have denied any military involvement in the incident and put the blame on drug cartels.

In the letter to the Mexican president, Boxer stated that while it was impossible to determine at this point whether the Mexican military was involved, it was still important to determine why the standoff happened at all.

"If cartel members are posing as Mexican soldiers, all of our citizens are at risk," the letter stated.

A similar letter had been written to Mexican and U.S. officials by McCaul, who chairs the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Investigations.

Jack Hirschfield, a spokesman for McCaul, said border violence is rising despite statements by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that claim the incidents have been decreasing in past years.

"We now understand exactly what the local, state and federal authorities are doing on a daily basis and that something needs to be done," Hirschfield said.


Wendy Leung can be reached by e-mail at wendy.leung@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9376.