Smith: Missing the Boat on Border Security

It was US Ambassador Ken Salazar’s comments on November 13 that brought all the pieces together. I worked with Salazar in the 90s under Colorado Governor Roy Romer and know him to be serious, thoughtful and always careful with his words.

It was also clear that he was appointed Ambassador to Mexico with the goal of building a relationship with its prickly President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO). At one point he was even accused of being too close.

On August 22, however he openly criticized Mexico’s constitutional change to allow judges to be elected, saying that it was “a risk to democracy” and “threatens the historic commercial relationship” with the US. His concerns are well placed. This change will make it easier for cartels to control the judicial selection process.

Then on November 13, he stated that Mexico had “closed the doors” in terms of cooperation on security issues. He was specifically referring to the discovery of a pile of bodies in the state of Sinaloa and the dismissive comments of the state police chief, Gerardo Mérida.

Add to this a number of other factors and it’s clear that both Donald Trump and Mexico’s newly elected President, Claudia Sheinbaum have let themselves be distracted from the seriousness of the growing cartel threat.

1.        The killings of two mayors. Alejandro Arcos Catalán was beheaded in Chilpancingo on October 6 and Roman Ruiz stabbed to death in Oaxaca ten days later. Catalán only took office on October 1. Think of the impact this is having on other local elected officials.

2.        The Anapra takeover. As I have written earlier, for about four years my wife and I would stop on the Sunland Park side of the border wall and residents of Anapra would come running out to greet us. It was a “dollars for photos” program that always drew a lot of laughs. For the last year, however, no one has appeared even though they know my car and our names. The answer is that a cartel has taken over this small area and the kids who used to be glad to get two dollars from us have better paying work as cartel lookouts.

Sheinbaum has talked about expanding job opportunities for young people but if the Anapra area is any example, that just isn’t happening.

3.        The Army in Juarez. Both AMLO and Sheinbaum have supported the transfer of more policing power to the Mexican Army but what I have observed in the Juárez area is confusion. For example, sometimes there will be troops at the Anapra-Sunland Park wall and sometimes not. Or they will leave at sundown, just when migrants are mustering for a crossing. What is obviously needed is not soldiers but police who know how to investigate crimes and prosecutors who know how to get convictions.

4.        The sentencing of Genaro Garcia Luna. On October 16, Luna, Mexico’s former Secretary of Public Security received a 38-year sentence from a federal district judge in New York. Imagine the shock waves in our country if someone at that high a level pf government was convicted. Earlier – July 25 – Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia, co-founder with El Chapo of the Sinaloa cartel, was arrested in El Paso after being lured or forced across the border by one of El Chapo’s sons who is also now in US custody. What role did Mexican officials play in these events?

5.        The Tren de Aragua. This is a Venezuelan gang that got its start in the Tocorón prison in the state of Aragua and has now spread to a number of countries – Colombia, Peru and Chile as well as Mexico and even the US. Twp alleged members were just arrested in New York. At one time, this gang ran the Tocorón prison and used its criminal income built a zoo, swimming pool, playground, restaurant and nightclub in the facility. What is being done about this new threat?

In a recent meeting with Border Patrol agents, an alleged Tren de Aragua member named La Barbie was mentioned. She had been arrested in El Paso for sex trafficking on September 27. Out of curiosity, I checked for her on the internet and realized that I had photographed her on February 15 on Father Rahm Street next to the Sacred Heart church where many Venezuelans would gather to receive food.

6.        Statistics. In August 2024 there were 76 murders in Juárez (pop. 2.15 million) and 15 in New York City (pop. 8.26 million). Throughout 2024, Juárez has averaged 93 murder a month. Mexico itself has been averaging about 140 homicides a day according to Statista. This is five times the murder rate in the US.

7.        Tariffs. In the meantime, our president-elect is talking about imposing tariffs on Mexico in order to force Mexico to get the cartels under control. The answer, however, is cooperation not coercion.

8.        Guns and our thirst for drugs. 

These are two US issues that haven’t been mentioned. What are we doing to control the flow of weapons to Mexico? We have improved the infrastructure at ports of entry like Santa Teresa and Palomas and there’s lots of expensive landscaping at Palomas. But what about instituting spot checks of southbound vehicles and looking for weapons?

Our thirst for drugs is a much bigger problem. According to the World Population Review, we are the world’s leader in illegal drug usage. Our death rate from illegal drugs is twice that of the number two country, Estonia.

The US-Mexico relationship is a critical one. Mexico, for example, is our biggest trading partner, accounting for about 800 billion dollars in two-way trade in 2023. We have to preserve and improve this relationship. Salazar was right to be critical of Mexico, but the US is at fault as well.

Editor’s Note: The above guest column was penned by Morgan Smith, a freelance writer and photographer who has been traveling to the border to document conditions there for the last 13 years. He can be reached at Morgan-smith@comcast.net

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