The section that interested me quoted McAllen police Chief Victor Rodriguez, who was speaking at the annual Texas Homeland Security Conference.
"We owe Texans and we owe our border communities responsible action that is based in reality – not rhetoric," he said. Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster went further: "There are some entities out there that think that the louder they scream, the more funding they're going to get."
In 2005, the state’s governor granted $6-million to improve police equipment and pay for overtime to respond to the possible threat of spillover from Mexican drug-related violence. Millions of dollars more have followed since then – including a $110-million border security package that passed in the state Legislature during its last session. Now, Rodriguez’ and Foster’s views are contradicted by other aspects of the story. And the point here is not to belittle the various threats murderous Mexican drug gangs pose. But interdiction of drug shipments at the U.S. border has curtailed a lot of the mobs’ business, and they have been setting up alternate routes through smaller countries in Central America, and avoiding the border with Texas and New Mexico. Despite hysterical headlines, the drug cartels in Mexico are on the ropes right now, which is the real cause of all the killings. They are fighting amongst themselves for a shrinking prize, or at least, a prize progressively more difficult to win.But like Homeland Security, like the now abandoned phrase ‘Global War on Terror (GWOT), the War on Drugs™ is a cash cow. It will never end, so it can pay for a lot of extra equipment, a lot of extra staff, and trips to crime-fighting conferences while it continues. Best of all, it’s recession proof.
I wrote a piece myself in January last year (“Dark Lords”) about the Narcos, but the picture is now shifting. They are far too violent and far too high profile, and organised crime can’t prosper under such circumstances. The European and Russian mobs have been avoiding them, and buying the cocaine directly from Colombia and Peru.
For some while, I’ve been suspicious that the attention paid to violent Mexican gangsters is partly rooted in simple racism, and partly in a desire to reduce the U.S. workforce of low-paid workers as a recession blossoms. Ridiculous warnings by the U.S. State Department for students to avoid Mexican resorts during March Break have kept the students and their cash at home, but have harmed U.S.-Mexican relations. There is always low-level crime in such places, but it has not increased in the past year or two. Mexico City, when I was there last month, felt no different, and I took no special precautions.
Homeland Security, it seems, is a gift that will keep on giving for years to come. I’m surprised two Texan law enforcement officers pointed this out, but they deserve respect for doing it.