The Washington Times
  • Subscribe
  • Times News Services
  • RSS
  • Mobile Headlines
  • e-edition
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • REGISTER
  • LOG IN
  • E-MAIL ALERTS
  • WELCOME
  • Your Profile
  • Log Out
  • Front Page Image
  • Classifieds
  • Autos
  • Real Estate
  • Jobs
  • Special Sections
  • Customer Service
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Sports
    • NFL
    • NBA/WNBA
    • MLB
    • NHL
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • Motorsports
    • Soccer
    • NCAA
    • Olympics
    • Outdoors
    • Other
  • Culture
    • Home & Living
    • Family & Kids
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Washington Visitors
    • Books
    • Military History
    • Life
    • Auto
    • TV Listings
    • Movie Listings
    • Death Notices
    • Entertainment
  • Themes
  • Communities
  • Marketplace
    • Autos
    • Jobs
    • Real Estate
    • Classifieds
    • Shopping
    • Dining Out
    • Education
    • TWT Store
  • Videos
    • Two Guys
    • Birnbaum on Washington
    • Liz Glover
    • Amanda Carpenter
    • Morning Briefing
    • Documentaries
    • Joe Giganti
    • Video Game Minute
  • Podcasts
    • About Headlines
    • Audio and Radio
    • America's Morning News
  • Sports

    Offense erupts in Caps' victory

  • National

    KUHNHENN: 10% jobless rate is Obama's troubling world

  • World

    Joint forces probe NATO air strike

  • National

    Fla. shooting suspect 'mentally ill'

  • Business

    Parents buying homes for kids at college

  • Politics

    Looking to 2010, GOP focuses on fiscal restraint

  • National

    Sunshine vitamin stirs new debate

Home » News » Editor Favorites

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

EXCLUSIVE: Border drug wars threaten U.S.

Rate this story

Average 0.00
after 0 votes
Login or register to rate this story

'Deadly force' spills over from Mexico

  • Font Size -+
  • Print
  • Email
  • Comment
  • Tweet this!
  • Share
  • Article
  • Comments ()
  • Click-2-Listen
  • Videos
Please stand by, images loading!
  • A U.S. Border Patrol agent is seen from Mexico through the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico, in September 2008. According to a report earlier this month about the San Diego-Tijuana border area, drug cartels are finding unorthodox ways to move contraband and people into the U.S., including wedging children into gaps in the cement pylons at border barriers. Associated Press.
  • The Mexican military presence near the border may provoke traffickers to use deadly force resulting in: 
(1) Threats against U.S. law enforcement
(2) Increased assaults against illegals immigrants and rivals cartel members.
(3) Shootouts near the border that pose threats to U.S. citizens and law enforcement because suspects in Mexico can flee quickly into the U.S.

More Editor Favorites Stories

  • Offense erupts in Caps' victory
  • KUHNHENN: 10% jobless rate is Obama's troubling world
  • Joint forces probe NATO air strike
  • Fla. shooting suspect 'mentally ill'

By Jerry Seper

EXCLUSIVE:

An escalating turf fight between warring drug cartels in Mexico is spreading into the United States with federal officials warning that deadly shootouts and ambushes along the southwestern border pose a serious threat to both U.S. law enforcement and American citizens, according to a confidential multi-agency government report.

The Aug. 29 report predicts a rise in the use of "deadly force" against U.S. police officials, first responders and residents along the border, and further spillage of drug-gang violence deeper into the United States.

Written by the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center (AcTIC) and the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Investigative Support Center, the report also said the drug cartels are expected to hire members of deadly street gangs now in this country, including Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), to "carry out acts of violence against cartel members in the U.S."

"U.S. law enforcement and first responders need to maintain a heightened awareness at all times," the report said.

According to the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times, cartel members and police officials in Mexico, in a bid to spare their families from the violence that has overwhelmed many Mexican border towns, could begin relocating them to the United States, resulting in more homicides and home invasions along the southwestern border, increased availability of high-powered weapons to Mexican drug smugglers already in the U.S., and the potential for the family members to continue drug operations in the U.S.

The report also predicted an increase in assaults against illegal immigrants and rival cartel members in this country, suggested that the presence of cartel members in the U.S. would allow them to gather intelligence on police enforcement activities, and would facilitate their "transport of weapons and currency southbound in tractor trailers."

While not widely reported throughout most of the U.S., the increased border violence is not new to the federal, state and local law enforcement authorities assigned along the 1,951-mile U.S.-Mexico border.

Thousands more U.S. Border Patrol agents have been assigned to the region as part of a Department of Homeland Security strategy to gain "operational control" of the border. As a result of the increased pressure, the cartels have resorted to more violent means of guaranteeing their drug loads into the United States.

Shawn P. Moran, a 10-year U.S. Border Patrol veteran who serves as vice president of the National Border Patrol Council Local 1613, added that the drug gangs are heavily armed and well-equipped, and can easily outman and outgun U.S. authorities.

[Get Copyright Permissions] Click here for reprint permissions!
Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC

12Next »

Post a comment

There are comments on this article, submit your opinion!

Please login or register to post a comment

Ask a Question

You Report

Do you have another point of view, photos, audio, video or more information about a story?

Top Stories

Most Read

  1. EXCLUSIVE: Rare virus poses new threat to troops
  2. Sniper's ex-wife speaks out on abuse
  3. PRUDEN: Corpse sits up, gets nice salute
  4. Inside the Beltway
  5. Armored troop carriers called unsafe for duty
More Top Stories »
  1. 13 killed at Texas army base; psychiatrist accused
  2. Aborted fetus cells used in beauty creams
  3. Army: Suspect said 'Allahu Akbar!' before shooting
  4. Can the 10th Amendment save us?
  5. 60 Plus leader: Senior 'tsunami' coming

Most Shared

  1. EXCLUSIVE: Rare virus poses new threat to troops
  2. Parents buying homes for kids at college
  3. Aborted fetus cells used in beauty creams
  4. EDITORIAL: Too scared to recognize terrorism
  5. Making fun of faith
More Top Stories »
  1. Sunshine vitamin stirs new debate
  2. Obama's new world order
  3. EDITORIAL: The grass roots keep growing
  4. NSA surveillance -- of you?
  5. PRUDEN: Corpse sits up, gets nice salute

Most Commented

  1. Army: Suspect said 'Allahu Akbar!' before shooting
  2. Muslims stunned by Fort Hood shooting
  3. Furious scramble for health reform support
  4. 'Gentle' Army psychiatrist displayed worrisome signs
  5. 13 killed at Texas army base; psychiatrist accused
More Top Stories »
  1. EXCLUSIVE: Rare virus poses new threat to troops
  2. PRUDEN: Corpse sits up, gets nice salute
  3. House OKs health reform bill
  4. Obama praises those who ended Fort Hood violence
  5. House majority leader warns of health bill delays

Listen to Washington Times Radio

  • America's Morning News

    with John McCaslin and Melanie Morgan

Question of the day

White House officials and Senate Democrats met in private three times last week to craft health care legislation. Do you think these discussions should be more public?

Blogs & Columns

  • POTUS Notes

    New Dem talking point on Obama approval doesn't wash

  • The Back Story

    12 arrested at Pelosi's office

  • Belief Blog

    Washington goes Greek this week

  • Out of Context

    Foods that might kill libido

  • Technology

    Facebook wins round against phishing spammer

  • On the Fly

    United lifts some 'award' blocking

  • Redskins 360

    He Said, She Said Week 9

  • Tara's Two Cents

    On their way to summer vacation..

  • SNOBlog

    Beyond 'Woody'

Videos

Advertising Links
TWT Store
  • e-edition
  • Print Edition
  • Weekly Washington Times
TWT Affiliates
  • Middle East Times
  • Golf
  • UPI
  • Arbor Ballroom
  • Washington Times Global
  • About TWT
  • Press Room
  • F.A.Q.
  • Work for TWT
  • Advertise
  • Sponsors
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Map

All site contents © Copyright 2009 The Washington Times, LLC.