Story here.
From June 2008:The violence associated with Mexican drug cartels is now spilling over onto the America side of the border in Arizona and Texas, state officials have admitted.
The New York Times reports that Arizona has seen a dramatic spike in drug-related abductions, home invasions, and even men dressed in SWAT gear wielding military-grade weaponry.
A home invasion here last year was carried out by attackers wielding military-style rifles and dressed in uniforms similar to a Phoenix police tactical unit. The discovery of grenades and other military-style weaponry bound for Mexico is becoming more routine, as is hostage-taking and kidnapping for ransom, law enforcement officials said.
The Phoenix police regularly receive reports involving a border-related kidnapping or hostage-taking in a home.
The Maricopa County attorney’s office said such cases rose to 241 last year from 48 in 2004, though investigators are not sure of the true number because they believe many crimes go unreported.
“There are a lot of cops on the payroll of the Vicente Carrillo organization and Guzman wants a stake in that smuggling corridor,” said Tony Payan, a drug trade expert at the University of Texas at El Paso. “Given that their pact has broken down, the gangs are setting out to kill all the people who work for the other side.”
Some 500 police officers and military personnel have been killed in drug violence in the 18 months since Calderon sent out the first of some 25,000 soldiers to fight drug gangs.
The official urged the U.S. Congress to pass a $1.4 billion aid package to help Mexico buy equipment like helicopters and encrypted communication devices to hunt down drug cartels.
Lawmakers have held up the so-called Merida Initiative with calls to attach conditions on how and where the aid is used.
“The Merida Initiative is vital,” the official said. “The hold-ups in Congress are not good. It could be seen we’re letting Mexico down.”
Looks like Congress also let America down...
