INFILTRATED: DRUG CARTELS' SWAY ON U.S. POLITICS RISES,
EXPERT SAYS

EL PASO - Mexican drug cartels are helping elect and influence
politicians in U.S. communities to advance their criminal activities,
an expert on international gangs alleged.

Richard Valdemar, a retired California law enforcement officer, said
authorities in California gathered intelligence showing that the
cartels are corrupting American politicians to gain a foothold in the
Southwestern United States.

Previous investigations showed that the Carrillo Fuentes, Arellano
Felix and Sinaloan drug cartels targeted Southern California cities
including South Gate, Hawaiian Gardens and Bell Gardens.

"Their efforts to influence and control these communities began in the
1980s, but investigators did not detect the trend until the 1990s,"
said Valdemar, who retired from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department after 33 years in 2004. He was also on a multi-agency
investigative task force for 12 years.

"Some of the communities got cleaned up and some didn't," said
Valdemar, who appears regularly on TV specials about gangs and other
organized criminals.

The influence of gangs on politics is not suspected in El Paso, but
gang experts said it could easily happen here.

Valdemar, a veteran investigator, said that in California, the Mexican
drug organizations employed a method they had used in Mexico with success.

Cartels send representatives to U.S. cities to buy legitimate
businesses, such as strip malls, restaurants, auto dealerships and
used-tire shops. Then they invite local politicians and police to
receive free meals and discounts, until they can develop relationships
with influential people.

"They could give an entire city council a million dollars, and fire
police chiefs, city managers, city attorneys, and anyone else who
opposes them," Valdemar said. "They got local laws changed so they
could run nightclubs, liquor stores and other businesses without
interference. They went after cities' towing contracts and other types
of contracts."

Although the true source of the money is hidden, he said, the cartels
contribute cash to the election campaigns of politicians, and finance
negative campaigns against their rivals.

They wait until a majority of elected offices are up for election in
city councils, county commissions and water districts, and run a lot
of candidates so they can seize a majority voting bloc.

Former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado made similar allegations in his
2006 book, "In Mortal Danger: The Battle for America's Border and Security."

According to the book, a Bell Gardens city manager who allegedly was
controlled by a drug cartel was forced to resign. Los Angeles County
prosecutors also stepped in after Bell Gardens city officials tried to
"shut down" the police department, Tancredo said.

In an interview, Tancredo said the United States government should
consider legalizing marijuana because the war on drugs did not appear
to be working.

"Two things need to be done to curb the cartels," Tancredo said.
"First, we need to secure the border with technology and human assets.
Second, since marijuana represents 75 to 85 percent of the
drug-traffickers' profits, we ought to legalize marijuana and take
away the profit. No company will want to stay in business with that
kind of loss."

Ramon Montijo, a former Los Angeles Police Department investigator,
worked with Valdemar and is familiar with the California
investigations. He is also a former police chief of Bernalillo, N.M.,
and Greenfield and El Centro in California.

"What happened in Southern California can easily (happen) in El Paso
because of its close ties to Juarez," said Montijo, who is an
international security consultant and educator based in New Mexico. El
Paso FBI officials said they did not believe the same problems now
exist here.

"The FBI is aware of this taking place along the Mexican border," FBI
Special Agent Andrea Simmons said. "We haven't had any information to
date that indicates this is a problem in the El Paso area, but we
continue to keep watch for it."

Montijo said the Juarez drug cartel developed a major criminal
pipeline with California in the 1980s.

In 1989, authorities discovered a warehouse in the Los Angeles area
containing 21.4 tons of cocaine. The drug belonged to Juarez drug
kingpins who used businesses in El Paso to store drugs and launder
money.

The Carrillo Fuentes organization had its own bank in El Paso, parked
its jets at city airport hangars and owned commercial properties
across the county, drug investigators said.

"The El Paso-California drug pipeline dates back to the Mexican
Revolution of 1910," Montijo said. "Francisco 'Pancho' Villa paid for
arms with bales of marijuana. The marijuana customers were in
California."

Currently, the Carrillo Fuentes cartel is at war with the Joaquin
"Chapo" Guzman Loera group, which has led to bloody gangland violence
in Juarez.

U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, recently urged the Department
of Homeland Security to re commit to securing the United States border
and seaports.

"Securing our borders and preventing violence in Mexico from spreading
into our country should be our top priority," Hutchison said.
"Powerful Mexican drug cartels threaten the safety of our communities
and the law-enforcement officials who put their lives on the line to
keep us safe.

"It is vital that we work together to combat narcotics trafficking and
safeguard families and neighborhoods along the border," she said.

U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said the American government was
doing everything in its power to help Mexico's president fight the
drug cartels.

Reyes said he was a key negotiator for the $1.6 billion Merida
Initiative, which provided equipment and training for Mexico's battle
against drug dealers.

He said he also supported efforts to help provide what ever tools were
needed to help Mexico reduce violence and restructure its justice system.

About 15,000 people have died in Mexico since the government began its
crackdown on the cartels in December 2006; Chihuahua state alone has
accounted for more than 4,000 of the deaths.

Reyes said the Mexican government was protective of its nation's
sovereignty and did not want direct American involvement in the fight
against the cartels.

However, because of the closer collaboration between U.S. and Mexican
law enforcement, he said, Mexico is "getting closer to catching"
"Chapo" Guzman.

Last month, Mexican President Felipe Calderon inaugurated Mexico's new
Federal Police Intelligence Center in Mexico City.

The center will use modern technology to gather information about
organized crime and other threats to the nation.