U.S. weighs aid to stem killings south of border

This week, as the death toll in Juarez passed 20, Texas lawmakers in Washington were debating the merits of a Bush administration plan to help Mexico fight drug cartels.

[Typical]

Dumping more unaccountable monies into the coffers of the netherworld and corrupt will continue to solve nothing.

Build the defenses first!
First and foremost, the US Border Sheriffs must receive the bulk of support, they are on the front lines with meager resources.
The Border Patrol buildup is working.

The frivolous assault on our public safety with the FENCE construction delays must stop.

Every Law Enforcement agent in the US, from Game warden to FBI must be cross certified in juristictions. Enabling ALL to act when encountering illegals will further help and protect.

Continue the aggressive ICE raids, heavily fining those who employ the illegals, jailing if they need a second reminder of the law of the land.

Eliminate access to social programs to non citizens.

Clearly outline the LEGAL PROCESS of citizenship, work for it or not. If not, get out.

Get rid of the violence in a very controversial step, will collapse the entire existence of the cartels.

Make "Mary Jane" a Texas crop, I'm sure the Texas ranchers could get the price down to a dollar a pound in less than a year. Yes, legalize it.

It pains me to even utter that thought, but I am getting more of the opinion that it's what we need to do. Prohibition didn't work, maybe just maybe we can educate and regulate (and of course Tax) sales to address the terrible problem we have with drugs.

Every citizen is part of the solution, get involved. Let's take back our streets, cities and Nation. We have our future in our hands, acting together for the PUBLIC SAFETY.

Take a bite out of crime and get trained to deal with it.
Texas has a great property owners set of laws, the CHL program, all there to help public safety. It's for us to protect us, from those criminal elements in our midst.
We have a dog in this fight, it is us. Failing to stand and unite will damn us all.

[Joe]

Most likely the same idiots who say a fence would cost too much, but they never seem to think billions of dollars handed over to that corrupt ineffective Mexican government is too much to give.

We've already provided Mexico billions of our hard-earned taxpayer money, and things are only getting worse. Maybe it's time they are cut off and forced to do for themselves.

It's time all the "proud" Mexicans living in the USA, flying their Mexican flags return home and actually do something for their country.

[Concerned Citizen]

Typical: Sounds like a plan to me. Now if we can get Oboma, Billery and Juan McCain on board. And the thing about legalizing IT. Look at the beer industry, It used to be Illegal to drink. Budwiser has done ok. The American farmer could research and make a better product. As the tobacco fields in the south go away, they could have a brand new crop. And regain the tax money we are loosing by making tobacco illegal. We would have to decide if it would be allowed to smoke it in the bars and resturants. Wow do you realize how the sales in resturants would go up if you could smoke one before a meal. A whole new economy.

[A whole new Economy]

I like that,
Imagine, taking a multi billion dollar industry, Americanizing it, tax it, and destroy the illegal drug industry in one fell swoop! No more exported jobs.

As we look south and realize the reality of Juarez martial law is the last grasp gasp of a government trying to stabilize itself.
Now, THAT is SCARY.

[efw]

Well it's wasted money when you consider that law enforcement big wigs here in El Paso do nothing when it comes to illegals and drug runners. They come here to escape what is happening in Mexico and you cannot tell me that the law enforcement community doesn't know who they are.

[Bikerknight]

Not one fricking dime should go to Mexico in aid of any kind until Army Specialist Medina-Torres is back on this side of the border, with all of his property, flipping the bird at the witless, feckless federales!
If they need help, they can learn to play nice with us.
I would say "To hell with Mexico" but the folks in hell already have it bad enough...

[Jim Holland]

It is time Mexico pulled itself up by the boot straps and dealt with their own issues and stopped counting on the "yankee" dollar. The corruption is imbedded to the point that it will take nothing short of a revolution to change. Exhausted tax payers are already supporting millions of its people in the US. Lets stop calling them illegal immigrants, they are refugees from a corrupt and broken nation.

[Joe]

efw wrote:

Well it's wasted money when you consider that law enforcement big wigs here in El Paso do nothing when it comes to illegals and drug runners. They come here to escape what is happening in Mexico and you cannot tell me that the law enforcement community doesn't know who they are.

Yep and when two good border patrol agents try to stop one of the cartel drug runners, they end up tossed in prison.

No -- Bush should not give Mexico a single dime, and why isn't Bush pardoning Ramos and Compean?

Look at yesterday when 4 men were shot up in Juarez, made it to the hospital only to be killed in the waiting room there, where WAS the Mexican army? It's not slowed down the bloodshed yet, in fact things are getting worse.

[Maria]

Mexican law enforcement cooperates with the narco-traffickers. Many U.S.-trained Mexican soldiers left service to become traffickers themselves. Also, as Calderón sends soldiers into civilian areas to "fight drugs," the soldiers wind up terrorizing innocent civilians, and the drug trade actually increases because they are consuming the drugs themselves. In Sinaloa last year soldiers gunned down a family passing through a checkpoint (some of them died), and some of the soldiers later tested positive for marijuana and cocaine use. Why doesn't this article mention this information???

As we've learned with Plan Colombia, arming corrupt governments only increases grave human rights violations, and doesn't decrease the availability of drugs. Many Mexicans are fleeing their country because of NAFTA eliminating their farm jobs, and the violence that soldiers are unleashing in their communities. If we send more money for military aid, just watch the immigration from Mexico increase.

The U.S. and Mexican governments should:

legalize and regulate drugs, repeal NAFTA completely, stop subsidizing huge agribusiness in the Farm Bill, and spend more to support local business and family farms here and abroad. Mexico should stop terrorizing indigenous communities to sell the land rich in resources to corporations. Mexico should recognize the peoples' right to cultivate the land and live peacefully on it.

Mexicans who choose not to flee their country and to fight the corruption (like the Zapatistas) are labeled as terrorists and threatened by Mexican law enforcement. We in the U.S. need to support these Mexican citizens' efforts to end government corruption. Walls will not stop immigration. Improving conditions and opportunities in their own country will. U.S. citizens can take part by demanding that we end NAFTA and stop the Merida Initiative.

[Mannyman]

If our government is so broke how can we continually be supporting Mexico, Iraq, and Afghanistan with our dollars for their problems? Didn't the war in Afghanistan lead the USSR to bankruptcy-yep! So my fellow Americans we need a referendum to stop our leaders from acting like we are the World Police Force and can solve other countries ills!

[Gunslinger915]

In the U.S. we had about 50 tornadoes this past week, destroyed cities in Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas and then we STILL have AMERICANS on our southeast coast, who have not recovered from hurricane Katrina. Why doesn' the government GIVE them FREE money, not loans, instead of shoveling MORE money down this rat hole in Mexico. The American taxpayers GIVE Mexico too much as it is and what do WE get out of it??? Shoveling money into Mexico does absolutely nothing, except waste OUR money. The money simply ends up in the pockets of all the corrupt politicos, Generals, Federals, Police and the Cartels. MOST of these people ARE the Cartels.

[The corrupt get more]

Why dump billions to Mexico and our Katrina folks are still homeless? Good Question.
Bad politicians who don't get dumped are the cause.

Wake up, add to the unemployment of politicians, VOTE and get their butts out.

GO FBI!! Lets get those offices emptied so they can be filled with REAL people who have genuine concern for the population.

[Zealot]

Gee, why didn't the Times interview Jorge's pals who profit from the illicit drug trade?

[Zealot]

Mexico can afford to subsidize dozens of consulates in Los Estados Unidos, so why can it not afford funds to fight the drug lords?

[Coolmind]

US needs to wake up and stop feeling the need to pay off every banana republic in the world. We are broke! We are $10 trillion in debt now!

bush gives out my grandkids money like it's water! He should give away HIS money!

no aid to anybody until we are out of debt.... about the year 2246

[Gunslinger915]

Coolmind wrote:

US needs to wake up and stop feeling the need to pay off every banana republic in the world. We are broke! We are $10 trillion in debt now!
bush gives out my grandkids money like it's water! He should give away HIS money!
no aid to anybody until we are out of debt.... about the year 2246

You go dude!!! Mexico has become a permanent rock around the neck of American taxpayers. I have been an American Citizen my whole life, the government has NEVER given me anything like this. Anybody else??? With just a very small part of the money the U.S. flushes in Mexico, I could do a lot of good. U.S., Americans, tornado and hurricane victims don't even have houses, hell some don't even have towns anymore. And now the U.S. just want to add more money to the pockets of the cartels and corrupt officials in Mexico.

[El Pasoan]

First by reading your comments you can tell you did not read the article. It does not necessarily state that they would give money to Mexico, but that it would give them equipment and training to help combat the drug war. But also a very good point it made was that if the USA had a gun control or more restrictions guns would not make their way as easily into Mexico. So at this I ask who is selling guns to the drug cartels in Mexico? The only people who can buy guns in the USA are American Citizens. HUH imagine that. Who do the Drug cartels supply to? The United States Drug Cartels. HUH imagine that Again, USA. They may be killing each other for the power of the cartel, but what it really is, is the ability to receive the GRINGOS money from the drugs that are supplied and that the americans are purchasing. Who thinks that the americans have the problem. I DO I DO you are so funny to judge others. But look at this country first. Just like another problem the US provides guns to the country who is screwing us over on oil that now has prices so jacked up the US economy hurts. Yeah USA GREAT COUNTRY just depends on what side of the stick your holding.

[Mike]

And Tony Payan's solution is to restrict guns in the US? Tony- here's a clue- fully automatic AK-variants only exist in large quantities in Central and South America. 9MM and .45 semiautos exist all throughout Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Less than.1%(that's one tenth of one percent) of the weapons seized by the Mexican authorities in drug raids actually came from the US and NO full auto AK-variants. The Mexico City papers ran that story about a month ago, wondering why attention was being diverted from the south and from the raids on Mexican armories.
Oh, and one other item- ban guns on the border in the US? Any idea what the cartel would do? Look what happens in Juarez because the citizens there are unarmed. Tony- go back to Chichen Itza and study history some more.

[Maria]

El Pasoan, just to clarify: the equipment and training would be paid for by $1.4 billion of our tax dollars. That is the money that the U.S. government would be giving to Mexico - used to fund the equipment and training. Anyway, I agree with you that the U.S. government is only making the problem worse. Funding equipment and training for another corrupt government will only add to those problems. Both the Mexican and U.S. governments are corrupt.

[phu q]

no dont help, the killings are great, the only reason that i read the paper. i am applying to be a mortitian in j town, ill have work forever