Thread: Mexico`s problem now our own

is this link active?

http://lang.sbsun.com/socal/beyondborde ... mexico.asp

It opened up for me just fine, here is what it said:

PUBLISHED DECEMBER 19, 2005 - PART 4, DAY 2: BEYOND BORDERS
Mexico's problems now our own


By Mason Stockstill, Staff Writer

When two Arizona Border Patrol agents were shot by suspected drug smugglers in June, the attack was widely believed to have been perpetrated by deserters from the Mexican military.
U.S. officials say highly trained former military servicemen calling themselves the Zetas have become deadly players in cross-border drug-trafficking, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.

The Zetas are suspected in connection with numerous kidnappings and murders in both countries – including at least three deaths in Dallas and, in Mexico, the killing of former Nuevo Laredo police chief Alejandro Dominguez, who was shot to death just hours after assuming office earlier this year.

"Paramilitary groups such as the Zetas ... and others who work for Mexican drug cartels as enforcers are a serious threat to public safety on both sides of the entire U.S.-Mexico border," said FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker during congressional testimony last month. "Their willingness to shoot and kill law enforcement officers on both sides of the border makes these paramilitary groups among the most dangerous criminal enterprises in North America."

The Zetas' presence in northern Texas – hundreds of miles from the border – is striking evidence that problems the Mexican government is unable to fix are increasingly becoming problems for U.S. officials.

In Arizona, local leaders have long complained that Mexicans crossing the border for treatment in hospital emergency rooms leave the health-care system short of funding. Federal law requires hospitals to treat anyone arriving at an emergency room, regardless of their ability to pay.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Agency for International Development awarded a grant to hospitals in Arizona to invest in Mexico's health-care system. That plan followed the establishment of a neonatal clinic south of the border in 1999 – partly funded by Arizona hospitals – that officials said reduced the number of premature births to Mexican mothers in nearby U.S. hospitals.

While the arrival of Mexican patients at U.S. hospitals appears to be tolerated by the government of Mexico, some say the country actively encourages its poor and jobless to come across the border to find work and set up new homes.

The most recent evidence is a brochure published by Mexico's Department of External Relations, which features helpful tips for potential illegal immigrants – such as warnings against crossing the desert when the weather is hottest, and admonitions to avoid calling attention to themselves after finding a place to live in the United States.

"This is not an action of a friendly neighbor," said Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., after the brochures claimed media attention earlier this year. "What would the Mexican government say if we encouraged our citizens to violate Mexican law?"

The problems endemic to Mexico's law enforcement system have also become headaches for the United States. Officials here blame the reach of drug cartels into some Mexican police departments for increasing violence in border communities. A State Department advisory earlier this year warned U.S. travelers to stay away from border areas, saying Mexico's inefficient judicial system and undertrained police officers were no match for the drug cartels.

Under President Vicente Fox, Mexican officials have made strides toward rooting out corruption, U.S. officials say. Fox reorganized the Attorney General's office after taking office in 2000. Drug seizures were up in 2004, and leaders of some of the largest drug cartels were arrested. Additionally, the FBI has increased its efforts to train Mexican police officers.

However, corruption still exists in many corners, and inevitably spills into the United States. Convictions for officials accused of taking bribes and helping illegal immigrants into the United States are increasingly common in border states.

Earlier this year, dozens of former U.S. soldiers, Arizona police officers and members of the Immigration and Naturalization Service pleaded guilty to taking bribes and smuggling drugs into the United States as part of a three-year FBI sting operation.

In August, a Border Patrol agent in San Diego was charged with alien smuggling and making a false claim of U.S. citizenship. Officials said Oscar Antonio Ortiz – who had worked for the Border Patrol for years – was in fact a citizen of Mexico, and had conspired with others to smuggle immigrants into the country near his area of operations.

"Any agent who defies the Border Patrol's motto of 'Honor First' and chooses to violate the trust of the citizens they swore to protect will be held accountable," said Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar in a statement. "There is no place in the Border Patrol for behavior that tarnishes and discredits the badge we proudly wear."

Talk back at: BeyondBordersBlog.com

- Mason Stockstill can be reached by e-mail at mason.stockstill@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9333.

Thank You BetsyRoss,
I`ve been having problems getting only blank windows

"mexico's problem now our own" Doesn't have to be, if we had a president how cared about the AMERICAN PEOPLE instead of the DAMN [Mod Edit] . One "OPERATION WETBACK" , put the army on the border, build the fence. Problem SOLVED. With the tecnology we have now we could have them back "HOME" in no time. They are not our friends, mexico is a courpt country, all ways has been. And they want to make AMERICA the [Mod Edit] that mexico is. But we are not going to let'm, RIGHT fellow AMERICANs, RIGHT !!!!!!!!!!!!! Remember to VOTE for Mr. Tancredo in 2008. [Mod Edit]

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