Texas Border Security: A Strategic Military Assessment
"Strategic
America’s fight against narco-terrorism, when viewed at the strategic level, takes on the
classic trappings of a real war. Crime, gangs and terrorism have converged in such a way
that they form a collective threat to the national security of the United States. America is
being assaulted not just from across our southern border but from across the hemisphere
and beyond. All of Central and South America have become an interconnected source of
violence and terrorism. Drug cartels exploit porous borders using all the traditional
elements of military force, including command and control, logistics, intelligence,
information operations and the application of increasingly deadly firepower. The intention
is to increasingly bring governments at all levels throughout the Americas under the
influence of international cartels."
...
"Impact on Texans
Fear and anxiety levels among Texas farmers and ranchers have grown enormously during
the past two years. Farmers, ranchers and other citizens in border communities are caught
in the crossfire of escalating cross-border violence resulting in large part from conflicts
between cartels, paramilitary enforcement groups and transnational gangs struggling for
control of key drug and illegal alien smuggling routes into the U.S. from El Paso to
Brownsville. Some Texas farmers and ranchers have even abandoned their livelihoods to
move their families to safer ground.
Living and conducting business in a Texas border county is tantamount to living in a war
zone in which civil authorities, law enforcement agencies as well as citizens are under attack
around the clock. The Rio Grande River offers little solace to the echoes of gunshots and
explosions. News of shootings, murders, kidnappings, beheadings, mass graves and other
acts of violence coming across the border go far beyond any definition of “spillover
violence.”"
...
"A consensus has emerged among both citizens and state border officials that they believe
U.S. federal agencies too often define their way out of the problem. As a consequence,
extortions, violence and cartel corruptions of local officials are not routinely reported.
Another factor revealed in testimonials by citizens living and earning their livings on the
border strongly suggests that intimidation by cartels also is taking its toll on the reporting of
border incidents. As one farmer noted:
“We see a lot of things, but we keep our mouths shut about it. We just don’t want to
be on anybody’s hit list. I keep to myself. The people that are doing what they’re
doing they keep to themselves. If I see something, I ignore it. I look the other way,
but there is a problem. It’s really bad. Here on the river, you see a lot of stuff and you
don’t pay attention to it. You walk away. You try to stay in an area where they see
you, so if somebody gets caught, they don’t say, ‘Well they called somebody.’ You
know, just try to blend in and not create any waves.”"