TARGETING SMUGGLERS: US-MEXICO PROGRAM MAY SOON START IN EL
PASO

EL PASO -- A pilot program in which U.S. Border Patrol agents work in
Mexico and Mexican federal police work in the U.S. and share
intelligence to catch drug and human smugglers may soon start in El
Paso.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Mexican
Secretary of Public Safety Genaro Garcia Luna signed a declaration on
Wednesday to copy a program that began along the border at Nogales,
Ariz.

"The U.S. and Mexico have been engaged in joint and cooperative
efforts in the border region of Sonora and Arizona," said Matt
Chandler, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security. "This new
declaration will allow us to build on our successful cooperation thus
far, and expand it to other high-risk areas moving forward."

The Border Patrol will send two agents to Hermosillo, the state
capital of Sonora, about 150 miles from the Arizona border, an
official said.

The Mexican secretary of public safety could not be reached for a
comment on whether officers would work at Border Patrol stations in
the United States.

The Mexican consul in El Paso, Robert Rodriguez, said no Mexican
officials were working in Border Patrol stations in the U.S.

Chandler said Homeland Security does not disclose details of future
actions, such as the work along the El Paso and Juarez border.

Doug Mosier, spokesman for the Border Patrol in El Paso, said he did
not know of any reproduction of the project in the area. He said he
expected that information would be forthcoming.

The El Paso sector covers all of New Mexico and parts of Culberson and
Hudspeth counties. It was the sixth-busiest area in border
apprehensions, a 2009 Homeland Security report said. The report said
El Paso had about 30,300 arrests in 2008, and officials said the
number fell by 50 percent to 15,000 in 2009.

The Drug Enforcement Administration said the El Paso-Juarez corridor
is the gateway for large quantities of marijuana and cocaine traveling
through interstate highways to metropolitan areas in the United
States. Traffickers have stash houses in El Paso, and local small
businesses launder large amounts of drug proceeds, the agency said.

Mosier said the Border Patrol began training local, state and federal
Mexican police after officials reached an agreement several years ago.
"We've always had a good working relationship with authorities in
Mexico," he said. "Whether or not that will increase, that remains to
be seen."

The Border Patrol in El Paso has trained Mexican police on topics such
as search and rescue and investigative techniques.

The negative image Mexican residents and authorities had of Border
Patrol has changed over the years, Mosier said, and that has helped
establish a better working environment.

"The whole notion or stigma that people in Mexico are afraid of the
Border Patrol has changed," he said. "The criminal elements still very
much respect the Border Patrol badge."

Napolitano selected Nogales to test the Border Patrol and Mexican
federal police operation months ago. She was the governor of Arizona
from 2003 to 2009. The Tucson sector, which includes Nogales, has had
the largest number of apprehensions since 1998 and is the busiest drug
corridor, according to Homeland Security.

Tucson accounted for 317,709, or 45 percent, of all southwest border
apprehensions in 2008.

The initiative between the two countries was disclosed one day after
Mexican President Felipe Calderon visited Juarez for the second time
to talk about the rising problem of drug-related violence in the
border city. Calderon has sought a binational solution to the problem
of smuggling guns and cash into his country.

President Barack Obama has cracked down on illegal immigration by
firing undocumented workers, and Napolitano has publicly said the
immigration policies in effect are not working.

In the past, other U.S. agencies have gained clout in the neighboring
country. The FBI has a main office in Mexico City and suboffices in
Monterrey, Guadalajara, Hermosillo and Tijuana. The DEA has eight
offices in Mexico including Mexico City, Guadalajara, Hermosillo and
in Juarez.