[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 29, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H539-H540]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 ALL IS NOT QUIET ON THE SOUTHERN FRONT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, Iran, Somalia, Syria, Colombia, Afghanistan, 
and Iraq have something in common. These are six nations, among several 
others, where the State Department recommends that Americans don't 
travel.
  But today there was another advisory issued, but this one was not by 
the State Department but by the State of Texas through the Texas 
Department of Public Safety.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to read just a portion of this into the 
Record. Here is what it says. Texas Department of Public Safety dated 
today: ``Due to the increased rising level of violence in Mexico--which 
is attributed to drug cartels, violent criminal organizations, and 
increased presence of military personnel in some Mexican border 
communities--it is recommended that persons be discouraged from 
traveling to Mexican border towns, particularly those that have 
recently been scenes of gang-related violent activity. These 
communities include Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, Reynosa, Rio Bravo, Miguel 
Aleman, and Ciudad Juarez.''
  Mr. Speaker, you see, the Texas Department of Public Safety has 
issued an advisory for Americans: don't go to these border towns 
because of the violence. And the reason the violence has increased 
specifically has to do with what happened in Rio Bravo which is across 
the Rio Grande River from Texas. The Rio Bravo mayor last month was 
gunned down while leaving a restaurant, along with two other 
politicians. The Mexican Government sent in troops to help quell the 
violence. But 5 days ago, local police in several Mexican border towns, 
specifically Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, and Reynosa, were relieved of 
their duties by the federal Government because of their alleged links 
to drug cartels, specifically the gulf drug cartel.
  What that means, Mr. Speaker, now on the Mexican border, bordering 
Texas, there are 6,000 Mexican troops stationed there. They are 
stationed from Matamoros to Miguel Aleman. Now, Matamoros is the border 
town across from Brownsville, Texas. Brownsville is on the furthest 
eastern tip of Texas. Brownsville is a big community, and across the 
river is Matamoros. And Miguel Aleman is 100 miles upriver across the 
river from Roma, Texas. There is violence in these border towns.
  Many people don't understand what a border town is. A border town is 
a town on the American border and has another town very similar to it 
on the Mexican border. And both of these towns, being border towns, 
border each other separated only by the border between Mexico and the 
United States.
  The State Department has already issued a travel alert for Mexico 
because of the violence that occurs there. But now the State of Texas 
finds a need to warn all citizens, especially law enforcement 
officials, of the problems.
  Mr. Speaker, the open-border crowd denies this violence occurs on our 
southern front. I have been down to the Texas-Mexico border now 13 
times, and I have talked to the local people who

[[Page H540]]

live there, and I have also talked to the chamber of commerce types who 
say, Oh, there is no problem here in our border towns. There is no 
violence or drugs. We don't have a problem with infiltration from drug 
cartels and criminals coming into our cities. Of course they say those 
things, in my opinion, because they want that open border for that 
travel back and forth between Mexico and the United States because of 
money, because of commerce, because of that greed that so many people 
have; and they deny the fact that the border needs to be secure.
  We live in denial sometimes that there is a border war that is 
existing. It is a violent border war. It is a border war between drug 
cartels and criminals, and many of those people don't just stay on the 
Mexican side.
  When Sheriff Rick Flores was here in Congress and testified before 
Congress, he is the sheriff in Webb County, Texas, he said we are naive 
to believe that the border problem only will be on the Mexican side. He 
is the sheriff in Laredo. Across the river is Nuevo Laredo. That is 
basically a ghost town now controlled by the drug cartels; and those 
criminals, they will come to the American side as well.
  Sigi Gonzales, the sheriff in Zapata County, he told me that the drug 
cartels and the criminals, they have better equipment, they have more 
equipment, they have better money, and they have more people involved 
in doing what they want to do than we have in protecting the dignity of 
the United States.
  And to illustrate how violent it is on the border, Mr. Speaker, I 
want to read you one more portion of this report: There currently 
exists a U.S. Department of State travel alert for Mexico. Fort Bliss 
officials announced Saturday that travel to Juarez has been declared 
off limits for U.S. military.
  In other words, Fort Bliss, the United States Army, they can go to 
Iraq, they can go to Afghanistan, but they can't go to Juarez right 
across the river because it is too dangerous.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a border war taking place on the southern 
border. All is not quiet on the southern border, and we need to 
understand that this is a tremendous problem and our government needs 
to get into action and protect Americans from this invasion.
  And that's just the way it is.

                         Border Travel Advisory


                                summary

       Due to the rising level of violence in Mexico--which is 
     attributed to drug cartels, violent criminal organizations, 
     and increased presence of military personnel in some Mexican 
     border communities--it is recommended that persons be 
     discouraged from traveling to Mexican border towns, 
     particularly those that have recently been scenes of gang-
     related violent activity. These communities include Nuevo 
     Laredo, Matamoros, Reynosa, Rio Bravo, Miguel Aleman, and 
     Ciudad Juarez. The increased levels of violence in recent 
     weeks and potential for additional violence suggest that an 
     advisory against traveling to these communities is warranted.


                                details

       On November 30, 2007, gunmen opened fire on the former 
     mayor of Rio Bravo--who was a two-term representative and 
     one-time senator--and his entourage as they left a restaurant 
     in Rio Bravo. The former mayor was killed along with two 
     other politicians and two federal agents. The Los Zetas, an 
     organized cell of the Gulf Cartel, had previously threatened 
     the former mayor's life and attempted a prior assassination, 
     prompting the government to assign bodyguards. In response to 
     the assassination, the Mexican government immediately 
     mobilized approximately 500 soldiers, federal police, and 
     support personnel in order to conduct counterdrug operations 
     in the state of Tamaulipas. The focus of the operation was on 
     the cities of Matamoros, Rio Bravo, and Miguel Aleman, just 
     south of Roma, Texas, and Reynosa, Mexico.
       On Monday, January 7, 2008, members of the Mexico Federal 
     Preventive Police (PFP) were patrolling Colonia Cuauhtemoc in 
     Rio Bravo when they observed a 2005 Chevrolet Suburban 
     occupied by heavily armed men. The officers attempted a 
     traffic stop that resulted in shots being fired at the 
     officers from the Suburban. A gun battle ensued, and 
     additional officers and a contingent of the Mexican army 
     responded. Three gunmen were killed and ten others were 
     arrested, including three U.S. citizens, one of whom was from 
     Texas.
       On January 23, 2008, local police in the border cities of 
     Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, and Reynosa, Mexico, were relieved 
     of their duties as army troops disarmed the officers and 
     searched for evidence that might show links to drug 
     traffickers. Eleven men were arrested by federal police in 
     Nuevo Laredo, including four police officers, who were said 
     to be operatives for the Gulf Cartel.
       President Calderon has sent approximately 6,000 military 
     troops and federal police to areas that extend from 
     Matamoros--which is across the border from Brownsville, 
     Texas--westward to Miguel Aleman, which is across the border 
     from Roma, Texas. Mexican military and federal police 
     personnel have also been sent to the city of Juarez. A 
     similar operation was conducted last year in Tijuana when 
     violence erupted there, with more than 3,500 soldiers and 
     federal officers sent to the city.
       Over the past weekend, a total of five people were either 
     shot or beaten to death in separate incidents in Juarez. This 
     comes on the heels of approximately 30 persons in Juarez 
     being murdered since the beginning of the year, including 17 
     law enforcement personnel, as well as the recent attempted 
     assassination of a Chihuahua State Police Commander Fernando 
     Lozano Sandoval. Commander Sandoval is currently hospitalized 
     in El Paso's Thomason Hospital under tight security. An 
     alleged ``hit list'' of Mexican law enforcement was also 
     discovered near Chihuahua state offices over the weekend.
       There currently exists a U.S. Department of State travel 
     alert for Mexico with a date to expire of April 15, 2008. 
     Fort Bliss officials also announced Saturday that travel to 
     Juarez has been declared off-limits for U.S. military 
     personnel.
       In addition to the travel advisory, law enforcement 
     officials should be aware of the possibility that violent 
     criminals and cartel members may seek to enter Texas in an 
     attempt to escape Mexican military and law enforcement 
     operations. As some persons seek refuge in Texas, their 
     enemies may plan to conduct raids or hits on them here. The 
     most significant violent criminals in the region are members 
     of the Gulf Cartel or their violent enforcers, Los Zetas.


                           analyst's comments

       With the increased military and police presence in Mexican 
     border towns, and the recent violence associated with 
     shootouts between Mexican military and drug cartels, it is 
     advised that Texas residents avoid traveling to Mexican 
     border communities, particularly those that have recently 
     been scenes of violent gang-related activity. In addition, 
     there exists a possibility that Los Zetas and Cartel members 
     may cross the border into Texas. Tactical operations, such as 
     increased police patrols, should be initiated in high-profile 
     and high-visibility areas--such as points of entry and 
     between points of entry--to discourage cross-border 
     incursions. If any contact is made with suspected Los Zetas 
     or cartel members, an INT-7 form should be completed and 
     forwarded to the Texas Intelligence Center.
       Law enforcement officials are encouraged to remain vigilant 
     and report any suspicious incidents to the Texas Intelligence 
     Center.

                          ____________________