[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1032 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1032

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
States should continue to assist the Mexican Government in fighting the 
  drug cartels and curbing violence against Mexican and United States 
            citizens, both in the United States and abroad.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 21, 2010

 Ms. Chu submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
States should continue to assist the Mexican Government in fighting the 
  drug cartels and curbing violence against Mexican and United States 
            citizens, both in the United States and abroad.

Whereas Mr. Agustin Roberto ``Bobby'' Salcedo was senselessly murdered on 
        December 31, 2009, at the young age of 33 while vacationing with his 
        family in the city of Gomez Palacio, Durango, Mexico;
Whereas Bobby Salcedo was a rising star in the community, had just been elected 
        to his second term as a member of the El Monte City School Board, and 
        served as the vice principal and football coach at his alma mater, 
        Mountain View High School;
Whereas Bobby Salcedo was studying for his doctorate in educational leadership 
        at the University of California, Los Angeles, after having earned his 
        bachelor's degree in history from California State University, Long 
        Beach, and a master's degree in educational administration from 
        California State University, San Bernardino;
Whereas Bobby Salcedo, the son of immigrant parents, sought to chart a better 
        course for his entire community, serving as a local leader for such 
        organizations as the South El Monte/Gomez Palacio, Durango, Mexico 
        Sister City Organization;
Whereas, on December 31, 2009, Mr. Salcedo was having dinner in a restaurant 
        with family and friends when a group of armed and masked men burst in 
        and forcibly removed Mr. Salcedo and 5 other men;
Whereas Mr. Salcedo was killed execution-style with a single gunshot to the 
        head;
Whereas Bobby Salcedo's body, along with the bodies of the 5 other men, was 
        found several hours later dumped in a field near a canal;
Whereas Bobby Salcedo, as well as the 5 other men who were killed, had no 
        connection to the Mexican drug trade;
Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been asked by the Mexican 
        Government to assist in investigating the death of Mr. Salcedo;
Whereas the Federal Government should provide the Mexican Government any 
        assistance necessary to bring Mr. Salcedo's killers to justice;
Whereas the violence in Mexico has historically involved disputes between 
        warring drug cartels, Mr. Salcedo's tragic death is the result of the 
        recent and pervasive surge in violence against innocent bystanders;
Whereas the Mexican drug cartels are major producers and suppliers to the United 
        States market for heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana and the major 
        transit country for cocaine sold in the United States;
Whereas the Department of Justice has identified Mexican drug trafficking 
        organizations as the greatest drug trafficking threat to the United 
        States worldwide;
Whereas Mexican drug cartels have repatriated huge sums of money to Mexico from 
        drug sales in the United States, estimated to range from $15,000,000,000 
        to $25,000,000,000 annually;
Whereas the Mexican Government estimates that 2,000 guns are smuggled from the 
        United States into Mexico every day;
Whereas the Mexican drug cartels have become increasingly violent, killing at 
        least 5,600 people in 2008 and more than 7,000 people in 2009;
Whereas the Mexican State of Durango is one of the most violent with more than 
        700 recorded gang related killings in 2009;
Whereas the Mexican Government, under President Felipe Calderon, has 
        significantly increased its efforts to stop the drug cartels and end the 
        violence, deploying some 45,000 troops and 5,000 police throughout 
        Mexico;
Whereas the United States has appropriated over $1,300,000,000 under the Merida 
        Initiative to Mexico to help break the power and impunity of the drug 
        cartels, assist the Mexican Government in strengthening its military 
        organizations, help improve the capacity of its justice system, curtail 
        gang activity in Mexico, and diminish demand for drugs in the region; 
        and
Whereas the United States should continue to assist the Mexican Government in 
        fighting the drug cartels and curbing violence against United States and 
        Mexican citizens both in the United States and abroad: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--
            (1) all efforts should be made to find those responsible 
        for the violent drug-related killings of innocent United States 
        and Mexican citizens throughout Mexico, including the people 
        who killed Mr. Salcedo;
            (2) the extreme violence by the Mexican drug cartels has 
        affected and continues to affect the lives of thousands of 
        innocent people in Mexico, the United States, and around the 
        world; and
            (3) the United States Congress should continue to support 
        bilateral cooperation between the United States and Mexico to 
        break the power of the Mexican drug cartels, curtail violence, 
        reduce arms trafficking, and diminish the demand for drugs 
        throughout North America.
                                 <all>