Border Surveillance Plan Stumbles as Two-Thirds of Mexico Declared Unsafe
Meanwhile, violence on the Mexican side of the border is getting worse — and showing signs of spilling over into the U.S.
“[Transnational criminal organizations] are getting squeezed tighter and tighter by authorities on both sides of the border,” explains Sylvia Longmire, analyst and author of Cartel: The Coming Invasion of Mexico’s Drug Wars. “However, they still need to keep the drug profits coming in. That means taking on more risk, i.e. engaging with U.S. law enforcement and engaging in violent behavior in public on U.S. soil.”
And she has a point. At least 65 percent of Mexican territory is now considered “unsafe” by foreign governments. In eastern Tamaulipas, fighting between the Gulf Cartel (CDG) and their former enforcer wing the Zetas has encroached into Monterrey, Mexico’s wealthiest city and the country’s second largest.
Closer to the U.S. — no, in the U.S. — on Tuesday, Border Patrol agents confronted a group of smugglers near the town of La Rosita, Texas. The smugglers reportedly fled back into Mexico where they were confronted by the military. A firefight ensued, and during the confrontation, one smuggler crossed back into Texas where he was discovered by the Border Patrol with three gunshot wounds.
More worrying, is the recent shooting of a Hidalgo County sheriff during a confrontation with CDG kidnappers. Also dangerous is the presence of CDG lieutenants in South Texas apparently taking shelter from an internal dispute which began with the September killing of Reynosa CDG plaza boss Samuel “Metro 3″ Flores.