Highlights:
– Recent reports from the FBI reveal escalating concerns of risk to US from cartel operations
– Cartel operations attempting to secure illicit drug routes in Texas
– Increased US law enforcement cooperation likely to limit cartel violence in near to mid-term
On October 29, 2008, the United States’ (US) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a “Joint Assessment Bulletin” to law enforcement agencies throughout the state of Texas discussing growing Mexican drug cartel actions within the US. The bulletin reflects the growing sentiment within the Texas law enforcement community that the cartel’s violent actions could be transported across the border as the US continues to increase prosecution of trafficking operations and cartel members.
While the cartels have largely maintained a non-engagement policy with US law enforcement up until this point, US security personnel fear that the cartels’ ability to adapt to targeting within Mexico will leave Texas citizens vulnerable as well. However, law enforcement cooperation within Texas targeting organized crime is currently at unprecedented levels, likely allowing officers to maintain a stable security situation on the American side of the border in the near to mid-term.
FBI Reports Highlight Concerns
The Joint Assessment Bulletin warned that Mexico’s Gulf Cartel, specifically the group’s associated hit man squad, Los Zetas, are attempting to gain control of major trafficking routes through Texas, specifically along Interstate 35. While the FBI indicated that there was no current specific threat from Los Zetas, FBI spokesmen in Texas stated the group does have “the potential to pose a significant problem to law enforcement in Texas.”
Additional information in a second FBI Intelligence Report also was released around October 29th. According to local media reports that cited access to the FBI report, the Gulf Cartel is allegedly stockpiling high-powered weaponry and recruiting local gang members on both sides of the US-Mexico border to “prepare for possible confrontations with US law enforcement.”
Reportedly the regional leader of Los Zetas, Jamie “El Hummer” Gonzalez Duran, has ordered dozens of supporters and reinforcements to the town of Reyonsa, located across the Rio Grande River from McAllen, Texas. These cartel members have supposedly gathered in safe houses throughout the McAllen area, and remain armed with assault rifles, bulletproof vests and grenades.
FBI spokesmen in the McAllen office refused to further elaborate on this information, but a spokesman from the San Antonio FBI office, while not confirming any details of the report, stated “we acknowledge the Zetas are a significant problem in Mexico and they have the potential to pose a significant problem on this side of the border.”
Law Enforcement Response
Within the past month, various law enforcement agencies have voiced their unease with the growing cartel presence along the border. The US Border Patrol, Texas Department of Public Safety and local county sheriffs recently stated that they will “not be intimidated by cartel violence”, but that the traffickers have become “increasingly confrontational.”
• Earlier this month, a shooting attack on two US Border Patrol agents occurred from across the Rio Grande outside the town of Mission.
The Hidalgo County Sheriff subsequently issued high-powered rifles to deputies patrolling near the Rio Grande, and they will be authorized to return fire originating from Mexico.
Texas Violence Likely to Remain Limited
Despite FBI reports that the cartels maintain the capacity to pose a “significant” problem within Texas as well, we anticipate the capabilities of the US law enforcement agencies operating in the region will limit the impact of cartel violence in the near to mid-term. While the porous border remains a challenge to fully protect, Texas Governor Rick Perry recently announced the appropriation of US$4 million from Texas criminal justice funding for “essential items such as the collection, analysis, and the sharing of intelligence among local, state and federal agencies and improved equipment.” He also intends to request an additional US$24 million in funding from the Texas legislature when it reconvenes in January 2009.
Though Governor Perry attributed a lack of federal assistance to the growing problem of border security, increased cooperation among agencies already operating within the Texas border region will limit the cartel’s operational capabilities within the US. For instance, the United States Department of Justice will also likely continue to provide assistance such as indicting cartel leaders who remain at large within Mexico in the near to mid-term, such as the recent indictment of Gulf Cartel leader, Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sanchez and lead Zeta Herberto Lazcano.
