BORDER SHERIFFS SEEK REINFORCEMENTS

Texans Call On U.S. To Send Aid As Threat From Drug Cartels Mounts

WASHINGTON - Texas border sheriffs pleaded Tuesday for more federal
help to confront Mexican drug trafficking cartels that are arming
themselves with more powerful weaponry and deploying tactics that
pose an ever-greater danger to U.S. law enforcement.

Appearing before a congressional panel examining border incursions
allegedly by Mexican soldiers protecting drug shipments, the sheriffs
of El Paso and Hudspeth counties detailed deteriorating conditions in
a region where rival cartels are locked in deadly competition.

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of explosives and high-powered weapons in Laredo, Hudspeth County
Sheriff Arvin West predicted that cartels will soon rig their drug
loads to detonate if seized by law enforcement. "This is an
overwhelming undertaking without the resources needed to do the
work," Sheriff West told the House Homeland Security investigations
subcommittee.

Sheriff West and El Paso County Sheriff Leo Samaniego, citing the
traffickers' "overwhelming manpower and weapons," urged Congress to
provide more funding for law enforcement agencies at the border. "Our
national security is only as good as the weakest link, and in my
opinion, the U.S.-Mexico border is the weakest link," Sheriff
Samaniego said, noting that terrorists could exploit the same routes
used by traffickers to smuggle drugs and illegal immigrants. The
concern is not an idle one, Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar acknowledged.

"Do we have information that al-Qaeda and other terrorist
organizations have looked at that possibility? Yes," he said.

Rep. Michael McCaul, the Austin Republican who chairs the
subcommittee, voiced concern about conditions at the border. "It just
seems to me like it's getting worse, not better, and the cartels are
getting more dangerous," he said. Sheriffs in the 16-county Texas
Border Sheriffs Coalition are fanning across Washington this week
with a simple message, Sheriff Samaniego said. "We need help," he
said in an interview. "Washington, do you hear us?" Call for
resources Additional resources do make a difference, the sheriffs
said, citing successes under Operation Linebacker, a recent border
enforcement effort funded by nearly $10 million in grants provided by
Gov. Rick Perry. But more help is urgently needed, the sheriffs said.
"The issues facing our nation along the U.S. and Mexico border
threaten our very freedom and way of life," Mr. West said.

Though he acknowledged resources are tight, Mr. Aguilar offered a
more upbeat assessment, saying the U.S. government has the strategy
and resources to combat the traffickers even in the face of
significant challenges. "Their lawlessness is not going unchecked,"
he said of the cartels. Still, the Border Patrol chief warned that
spikes in violence are likely as law enforcement squeezes the drug traffickers.

The Texas sheriffs' plea for more resources was underscored by the
head of the union representing 10,500 Border Patrol agents, who said
violence against agents by current and former Mexican soldiers and
law enforcement officers is escalating "dramatically."

T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, decried
the incursions and accused the Mexican government of doing little to
stop the problem - a statement echoed by Mr. McCaul.

"I think when a government fails to act, it's complicit by inaction,"
Mr. McCaul said.

A military link? Though the Border Patrol has documented more than
200 incursions over the last decade, the issue gained new urgency
after a Jan. 23 armed showdown in Hudspeth County near the Rio Grande
between Texas law enforcement and men suspected of belonging to the
Mexican military.

Sheriff West on Tuesday repeated his belief that it was Mexican
soldiers, in a heavily armed military-style Humvee, who went in aid
of a convoy of drug-laden sport utility vehicles being chased by
Texas law officers. The subcommittee played footage of the high-speed
chase filmed by state troopers. The Mexican government on Tuesday
officially denied the claim, advising the State Department that its
investigation had concluded the men were drug traffickers in
disguise, not soldiers.

At a news conference last week, Mexican Defense Minister Gerardo
Clemente Vega Garcia said four of the suspects in the Jan. 23
skirmish are members of a trafficking cell headed by Jose Rodolfo Escajeda.

An investigation by the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement
is continuing. But Mr. Aguilar said the vast majority of the 144
incursions documented over the last five years were accidental. But
the incidents are significantly concerning, he said, because each
encounter has the potential to escalate into violence.

While the Border Patrol has arrested Mexican soldiers trespassing in
the past, Mr. Aguilar said he knew of no confirmed incidents of the
military being involved with drug trafficking.

His assurance wasn't embraced by the Texas sheriffs and Mr. Bonner,
who detailed several incidents in which Mexican military fired on
U.S. law enforcement.

"There is no way to sugarcoat this: There is a culture of corruption
in Mexico," Mr. Bonner said, demanding that the U.S. government
insist "in clear and unambiguous terms" that the incursions cease. In
a way, Mr. Bonner said, the debate over whether the armed enforcers -
who have displayed military-style flanking, sniper and
cover-and-concealment tactics - are military is irrelevant. The fact
remains, he said, that Mexico has done little to halt the incursions.

Elizabeth Whitaker, deputy assistant secretary of state for Mexico
and Canada, said the U.S. and Mexico collaborate to reduce
incursions, which have declined in frequency.