GOVERNOR PERRY SUPPORTS SENDING TROOPS TO MEXICO, IF INVITATION IS EXTENDED

Gov. Rick Perry said deploying U.S. soldiers to Mexico should be one
option to curb drug cartel violence in border cities, but only if
Mexico invites the Americans.

"I think we have to use every aspect of law enforcement that we have,
including the military," Perry said during an interview Thursday with
MSNBC. "I think you have the same situation as you had in Colombia."

Perry, the new chairman of the Republican Governors Association, has
been touring the country promoting his anti-Washington book, "Fed Up!"

The governor's spokeswoman, Katherine Cesinger, said Perry was simply
responding to a question and counted U.S. military involvement in
Mexico as one of many options the federal government should consider.

"The bottom line is we need to keep all of our options on the table
when talking about how to deal with the effects of this drug war, and
how to protect Americans against the effects of this drug war,"
Cesinger said Friday.

In the interview, Perry said the Mexican government would need to
approve of U.S. intervention.

Ricardo Alday, a spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington,
D.C., said such an invitation would never happen.

"Mexico has reiterated on repeated occasions that the presence of
U.S. troops on Mexican soil is not and will not be an option," Alday
said in a statement. "It seems that some U.S. politicians insist on
electoral campaigning, even as the election ended November 2."

Perry won a third term as governor that day and has said he is not
running for president.

In his national television appearance, he said the U.S. government
has been deficient in securing the country's southern border from drug gangs.

"The fact of the matter is these are people who are highly motivated
with money. They are vicious. They are armed to the teeth, and I want
to see them defeated," Perry said.

He also said the United States should use any means "to run these
people off our border and to save Americans' lives."

Neither Perry nor his spokeswoman specified how sending U.S. soldiers
into Mexico would help quell the violence.

"I don't know that it is helpful to talk about hypothetical
situations," Cesinger said.

The violence in Mexico has been unrelenting, and Juarez is its
epicenter. At least 89 U.S. citizens have been murdered there since
2008, and Juarez is averaging about nine murders a day this year.

El Paso Mayor John Cook said deployment is an option, but not one
that can be taken lightly.

"It is important for us to respect the sovereignty of Mexico when we
are suggesting military intervention," Cook said. "Fortunately, this
is a decision that Congress and the president have to make, not the
governor of Texas."

Cook said the United States must help build a stronger economy and
democracy in the neighboring country. He also said Mexico "has a long
road ahead" before people can trust its law enforcement and justice system.

U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said Congress would work on a new
agreement to replace the expiring Merida Initiative to help Mexico
combat drug-related violence.

"It is highly unlikely that the government and the people of Mexico
would ever invite the U.S. military to patrol Mexican soil," Reyes
said in statement.

Hector Murguia, mayor of Juarez, said he was happy the governor of
Texas is showing an interest in border problems. But, Murguia said,
it is up to the Mexican State Department to approve any deployment.

Hudspeth County Sheriff Arvin West, a member of the Texas Border
Sheriffs' Coalition, said a military intervention is necessary
because Mexico's strategy to stop the drug war is not working.

"It will be a way to let Mexican citizens live in peace," he said.

West said he does not trust Mexico's law enforcement agencies or its army.

"Es pura mordida, puro corruption," he said, which means it is all
bribes, all corruption.

Still, the idea of the U.S. military intervening is not popular among
Mexican citizens, according to one poll conducted last spring and
made public in August.

The Pew Hispanic Research Center's Global Attitudes project said 67
percent of Mexican citizens were opposed to the deployment of U.S.
soldiers to Mexico.

Dr. Arturo Valenzuela Zorrilla is leader of a citizens committee in
Juarez that oversees efforts to curtail violence.

"The problem we have will not be resolved by adding more weapons," he
said. "That will only help feed the defense industry."