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Title: U.S. To Crack Down On Mexico Border Violence
Source:
Reuters
URL Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN2434320020090324
Published: Mar 24, 2009
Author: Reuters
Post Date: 2009-03-24 12:02:42 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 63
Comments: 3
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House unveiled a new effort on Tuesday to crack down on the two-way smuggling of drugs, guns and money across its border with Mexico, expressing President Barack Obama's concern that criminal violence could spill over to U.S. soil. "The president is concerned by the increased level of violence ... and the impact that it is having on communities on both sides of the border," the White House said a day before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton leaves on a trip to Mexico. The new U.S. strategy seeks to fight the growing power and violence of Mexican cartels, which ship billions of dollars worth of illegal drugs into the United States and bring back weapons and cash. The plan calls for boosting the number of agents from the U.S. departments of Justice, Treasury and Homeland Security working on border security, and stationing new inspection technology at border stations. It also draws on $700 million Congress appropriated for fiscal 2008 and 2009 to assist Mexican law enforcement and military -- including with five helicopters. Separate from the plan unveiled on Tuesday, the Obama administration is still considering contingency plans to send U.S. troops, probably National Guard reserves, to the border area in case of a broad outbreak of cross-border violence. In addition to the Clinton trip. Obama plans to visit Mexico City ahead of the Summit of the Americas in April. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder are to travel to Mexico the following week to meet their Mexican counterparts at a conference on arms trafficking. The effort underscores the Obama administration's growing emphasis on fighting weapons smuggling to the Mexican drug cartels, which helped fuel deadly turf wars and battles with authorities that killed 6,000 people last year. Investigators say nine out of 10 guns retrieved from crime scenes in Mexico are traced back to U.S. gun dealers. The bloodshed and the prospect that violence could spill into the United States has alarmed U.S. policymakers. An increase in drug-related kidnappings has already been noted in some U.S. cities. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has made controlling rampant drug violence his administration's top priority and has sent 45,000 troops across the country to break up the gangs. His government on Monday offered rewards of up to $2 million for information leading to the capture of the country's drug kingpins, including Mexico's most-wanted man, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
Why do I believe that stat to be wildly bogus?
This won't be solved until we eliminate our dependence on foreign pot.
Investigators say nine out of 10 guns retrieved from crime scenes in Mexico are traced back to U.S. gun dealers.
#2. To: Brian S (#0)
I've already said too much.
#3. To: Brian S (#0)
No place is better than Turtle Island.
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