Border update

The BBC recently put out a multimedia story titled Mexico’s Juarez on a path to anarchy, which explains the perspective of people living in the town. The article points out that one belief is that the drug war is the result of poverty and political corruption.

On poverty, one Mexican journalist is quoted in the article:

"We have an unsustainable economy - a globalised economy - which pays very low wages. That allowed an alternative economy to be created which also globalised - drugs. Both economies are playing here. Juarez is a very important place for both."

And on corruption, a Mexican business man is quoted:

"Nothing functions well, therefore anyone can take advantage of the system. So what we're seeing now is a [illegal] drug industry that's taking advantage of the system - of the way things work.

"And to get rid of it like the federal government is trying to do now is going to cause a lot of problems. So this violence is a consequence of all this."

The problems occuring at border areas in Mexico has led officials in the U.S. to try and find ways to help remedy the situation. One idea that keeps coming up is gun control. Former head of U.S. Custom and Border Protection under both Bush administrations, Robert C. Bonner, is advocating for the reinstitution of a ban on assault weapons. An article from the Washington Times wrote that Bonner is calling for the United States to tighten security along its border and to further investigate gun sellers in the U.S.

Bonner was quoted as saying that the solution to these problems must be tackled by both the U.S. and Mexico.

"But successful efforts will require closer collaboration between U.S. and Mexican border law enforcement agencies, and this will depend on strengthening law enforcement capacity in the border region, including enhancing the professionalism of enforcement agencies to make them more corruption-resistant," he said.

One growing issue of concern is a press release put out by the Texas Department of Public Safety titled,Mexican cartels and gangs recruiting in Texas schools (pdf). The warning states that there is a growing trend of cartels trying to entice young people into becoming drug smugglers along the border. "The Mexican cartels constantly seek new ways to smuggle drugs and humans into Texas are now using state based gangs and our youth to support their operations on both sides of the border."