MEXICO IS PRAISED FOR ANTI-DRUG WORK

US Officials Say Binational Response Can Curb Violence

EL PASO - Top U.S. law enforcement officials praised Mexico's
anti-drug efforts Monday and urged more binational cooperation as an
antidote to the drug-fueled violence along the border.

FBI Director Robert Mueller, addressing the fifth annual border
security conference at the University of Texas at El Paso, said that
is concerned with the high level of violence along the border and the
drug and human smuggling and gang activity that generates it.

Of particular concern is the violence just across the border in
Ciudad Juarez, where 700 people have been killed in drug violence
this year, Mr. Mueller said. He praised Mexican President Felipe
Calderon for his strong response.

"We have two cartels fighting for control. President Calderon has
taken the fight to them, but serious challenges still exist to border
security that must be met with a joint effort," he said.

Jose Riojas, UTEP vice president of strategic initiatives, also said
the problem demands a shared response.

"We have to develop a strategy that is best for public safety no
matter what side of the border people live on," he said. "We believe
that is best arrived at through a binational effort that provides for
both border security while protecting commerce.

Today at the conference, Mr. Riojas will be formally named executive
director of the university's new National Center for Border Security
and Immigration.

"We are destroying the crime organizations' structure, and that has
spurred more violence . as the drug organizations spread out to
kidnapping and extortion to make money," he said. "What we need is
the full commitment of the United States, particularly in helping
integrate technology we don't have access to. .

"We are seeing the benefits of greater cooperation between the United
States and Mexico, but the price has been high for us," Mr.
Suarez-Mier said. "More than 2,500 people have been killed in the
drug wars, and people want immediate results."

Michael Sullivan, director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives, praised Mexico's efforts.

"We have asked Mexico to assist in stopping the flow of drugs across
our borders, and they have done so extraordinarily well - and at
great cost to civilians and law enforcement officers targeted for
execution and assassinations by the drug cartels," Mr. Sullivan said.
"What Mexico asks us to do is something similar, to halt the flow of
guns into Mexico."

ATF data shows that 90 to 95 percent of the guns used to drug
violence in Mexico enter illegally from the United States, adding
significantly to the rising tide of violence.

U.S. and Mexican law enforcement agencies recently unveiled a joint
effort, called Armas Cruzadas (Crossed Arms) to disrupt cross-border
weapons smuggling through the sharing of databases and better
monitoring of illicit sales at gun shops and gun shows.

The new measures will also give Mexican law enforcement officials
greater access to the eTrace computer database in the U.S., allowing
them to use the serial numbers to trace weapons used in Mexican
crimes to U.S. gun dealers.

Mr. Mueller noted that the FBI is engaged in 146 separate task force
investigations, 12 of them in Texas, aimed at drug smuggling groups
and gang activity.

And the agency is engaged with Mexican police in a binational
anti-kidnapping task force. Asked how U.S. agents know they can trust
Mexican law enforcement officers, Mr. Mueller stressed that drug
corruption does not just affect Mexico.

"Mexico struggles to build up its rule of law. President Calderon has
led the way in this attack on public corruption," he said. "We
carefully vet the agencies we share information with. We work only
with those we can trust."