Task force aims to spur governments on border ills

By Sandra Dibble
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:00 a.m. February 13, 2009

SAN DIEGO — A high-level task force with participants from the United States and Mexico is plunging into thorny cross-border issues such as drug trafficking, illegal weapons sales and clogged border crossings in hopes of influencing government policy on both sides.

The 32-member group, which yesterday launched three days of meetings in San Diego and Tijuana, is made up of former and current government officials, academics, opinion leaders and others with expertise on a wide range of bilateral issues.

The group intends to use its connections and clout to gain the ear of both the Obama and Calderón administrations on issues vital to the border region.

“By and large, we have a fairly chaotic, badly governed, badly managed situation,â€