Border violence threatens Texas agriculture, trade

chron.com
Opinion
By TODD STAPLES
Updated 08:14 p.m., Wednesday, October 26, 2011

A cache of guns is purchased. Fourteen people are kidnapped, brought into the U.S. and held hostage in a suburban home. An innocent man is murdered.

These may sound like scenes from a Hollywood movie, but these events occurred in or near the Houston area, and all have ties to dangerous Mexican drug cartels.

The cartels that are responsible for some 34,000 homicides south of the border have expanded their illegal business into major American cities, including Houston, and are terrorizing innocent Texas victims along the way.

How does this happen? Texas has a porous border that allows the flow of transnational criminal organizations into America. And Texas farmers, ranchers and other rural residents are trapped on the front lines. Rural areas along the Texas/Mexico border are increasingly caught in the crosshairs of our nation's drug war. Yes, the word "war" always creates controversy, but it is time we admit what is actually occurring on America's southern doorstep. Bullet holes don't lie.

Neither do the victims, if they are lucky to live to tell. A man is gunned down on a McAllen freeway; the killers are linked to the drug cartels. A Webb County rancher checking his cattle is shot at and barely escapes with his life; the suspects are linked to drug cartels. Workers in a Hidalgo County sugar-cane field are told by cartel members to stop harvesting their crop "or else," because the sugarcane provides coverage for cartel coyotes smuggling drugs. These are all true, documented occurrences - not myths. Americans are being terrorized and intimidated. It must stop.

Many leaders in Washington, D.C., continue to ignore the problem while falsely claiming our nation's border with Mexico is safer than ever. This is why I, with consultation from the Texas Department of Public Safety, commissioned "Texas Border Security: A Strategic Military Assessment." If the president and his administration won't hear the concerned voices of Texans, perhaps he will listen to high-ranking retired military generals who know a thing or two about facing foreign enemies.

Retired Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, the former U.S. drug czar under President Clinton and SouthCom commander of all U.S. troops in Latin America, and retired Major Gen. Robert H. Scales, former commandant of the U.S. Army War College, co-authored the assessment. It was critical to utilize their vast military expertise to incorporate strategic, operational and tactical elements of securing borders and hostile territories, and make recommendations to apply these elements along the Rio Grande.

The generals' assessment is clear: American farmers, ranchers and rural residents are under attack by cartels that rely daily on tactics such as murder, kidnapping, the smuggling of humans, drugs and arms, and blackmail to carry out their illegal trade with distributor gangs in hundreds of American cities.

It's important for the American people and the federal government to fully understand that besides being a gateway for criminal activity, the 1,200-mile Texas/Mexico border plays a critical role in the safe transportation of goods and services through our nation. Allowing this area to be under siege is not only inexcusable for the sake of our citizens' safety, but also is detrimental to American trade, agriculture and our overall economy. The proof will be seen in your neighborhood grocery stores as food prices increase to compensate for added security. Keep in mind, Mexico is the No. 1 trading partner for Texas and No. 2 for U.S. exports. It is this legal trade we are trying to preserve.

As the generals' report concludes, it is imperative the federal government admits to the problem of cartel violence along the Texas/Mexico border and fulfills its duty to defend and protect American soil and citizens. Denying the problem of border insecurity fails our Founding Fathers, our citizens and our nation. Are you listening, Washington? Texans want action.



Staples, the state agriculture commissioner, is a candidate for lieutenant governor.

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