Congressmen Urge More U.S. Help for Mexico in Drug War

MEXICO CITY — Two Central Texas lawmakers warned that Mexican cartel violence is spilling across the Texas border and urged greater U.S. cooperation to fight the cartels.

U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, and Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, wrapped up a three-day visit to Mexico on Tuesday where they got a first-hand view of the Mexican government's bloody battle against warring drug cartels.

Their visit came in advance of congressional debate on a proposed $1.4 billion aid package to help Mexico fight its drug war.

The lawmakers, both members of the House Homeland Security Committee, met Monday with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and other top Mexican officials.

"They are our neighbor to the south and they have a huge problem that has become our problem as well," McCaul said. "It should be a shared responsibility."

Both men praised Calderon's efforts in directly confronting the drug cartels, but noted that the Mexican government still has a long way to go to.

Calderon has sent thousands of troops to the border region recent weeks to quell festering violence that has left scores dead since Jan. 1.

Before visiting Mexico City, the congressmen met with officials in Matamoros, Tamauilipas, the border city that is headquarters of the Gulf Cartel, one of two Mexican cartels battling for supremacy over drug trafficking routes.

The visit came at a particularly violent moment along the border, which in recent days has been the scene of raging shootouts from Tijuana to Rio Bravo to Matamoros. More than 160 people have been killed in drug violence in Mexico so far this month.

The visit also came as Mexico announced the capture of drug lord Alfredo Beltran Leyva on Monday. Beltran Leyva, one of the highest-ranking members of the Sinaloa Cartel, headed up drug transportation, money laundering and the bribing of public officials for his organization, according to the Mexican government.

McCaul called the arrest evidence that Mexico is making progress in its fight. "The guy they arrested today was kind of the brains of the operation," McCaul said. "These arrests make a huge impact. You're really cutting the head off the snake. They lose a lot."

But McCaul said he's convinced that Mexico needs U.S. help in its fight against the drug cartels, although he warned against writing the Mexican government a "blank check."

Presidents Bush and Calderon have endorsed the $1.4 billion aid package, dubbed the Merida Initiative, but it's unclear whether the U.S. Congress will pass the measure. McCaul said he would like to see more U.S. military assistance, intelligence sharing and better coordination between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement as part of any assistance to Mexico.

"In my view the violence has spilled over and we have to do something about it," he said.

McCaul and Cuellar said that Calderon emphasized his government's commitment to reforming Mexico's notoriously corrupt legal system and efforts to root out corruption from Mexican police forces, especially at the federal level.

"The Mexicans are taking some very bold steps," Cuellar said. "People should not question their commitment."

Cuellar also called for attacking the cartels in Mexico, before they emerge as threats in Texas cities along the I-35 corridor like Austin and San Antonio.

"We have to fight to them in their back yard not our backyard," he said.

Both lawmakers called for greater attention within U.S. government to the threat posed by Mexico's cartels. A 2006 Homeland Security Committee report headed by McCaul called the Mexican cartels "more sophisticated and dangerous than any other organized criminal enterprise."