FBI AGENT: BRIBERY TEMPTS OFFICIALS

SAN BENITO -- Drug trafficking that has spurred violence across
Mexico is spreading corruption into the Rio Grande Valley in the form
of bribery that tempts some U.S. officials, a top FBI agent said.

"Our main threat in the Valley emanates from drug trafficking
cartels," Miles Hutchinson, the FBI's supervisory senior resident
agent in Brownsville, said in a speech before the San Benito Rotary
Club on Thursday.

The Gulf Cartel moves an estimated $20 million to $40 million worth
of drugs through the Valley every month "and a lot of that money
stays here," said Hutchinson, who has served as an FBI supervisor in
Mexico City.

"We have several officers -- federal and state -- who have succumbed
to the easy money aspect," Hutchinson said.

Mexican traffickers move drugs into the United States with the help
of operators in the Valley, Hutchinson said.

"There are lots of people who have business associations with the
Gulf Cartel, whether it's moving drugs or hiding money (with)
transportation companies and businesses that are fronts for criminal
organizations," he said.

The drug war that rages in Mexico has spurred an exodus of Mexican
citizens that has helped spark the Valley economy, Hutchinson said.

"There has been a small boom in business in the Rio Grande Valley due
to the sheer numbers of people leaving Mexico," Hutchinson said.
"Housing starts are up, housing sales are up, hotel occupancy is up.
People are taking their money out of Mexico and coming here."

The death of Ezequiel "Tony Tormenta" Cardenas Guillen, a top leader
of the Gulf Cartel killed in a Nov. 5 shootout in Matamoros, helped
calm violence in that city, Hutchinson said.

"He was extorting, kidnapping. Lots of people were disappearing,"
Hutchinson said. "Since his demise, that's been diminishing a lot."

Mexican President Felipe Calderon's military buildup has helped quash
violence that raged in Matamoros for months, Hutchinson said.
"Matamoros was a forgotten town," Hutchinson said, referring to the
city before the military upsurge.

Calderon ordered a historic military buildup as drug traffickers
fought for control of the city, Hutchinson said.

"There's a lot of Mexican military throughout the state of
Tamaulipas," Hutchinson said. "He sent the troops up here and we
believe they're here to stay .... He has taken tremendous strides
... He has come in with a very heavy hand. He's got his heart in the
right place."