Texas border sheriffs say they are outgunned by Mexican drug cartels, but want to show federal government ‘how it should be done’

August 25, 2006

Texas sheriffs along the U.S. border with Mexico say that Mexican drug cartels operate with intelligence capabilities, weaponry and communications equipment that far exceed the resources made available to local law enforcement in the U.S. The sheriffs have organized a new border security coalition.

The sheriff of El Paso County says that the border creates enormous opportunities for heavily armed criminal enterprises like drug cartels and terrorists.

'A lot of people make their living transporting illegal aliens,' said Sheriff Leo Samaniego. 'The 'coyotes' get them across the border but there is a network of individuals involved in transporting them once they get to safe houses.'  And the same methods of concealment and transportation are being exploited by the drug cartels, he explained.

Local officials must often bear the full force of the crimes that attach themselves to illicit border crossings, and they include drug smuggling, human trafficking, trespassing, destruction of property, vehicle theft and even kidnappings and murders.

The sheriff believes many Mexican drug cartel members actually live in the U.S. and function as part of one of the largest criminal enterprises in the world.

'Federal, state and local officers all along the southwest border of the United States are outgunned and outmanned,' Samaniego told the House International Relations Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation in July.

Sheriff's deputies are advised to 'back off’, when they see well armed individuals from cartels and other criminal organization, he said.

Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez of Zapata County has been in touch with a number of informants familiar with the drug cartel operations. 'They tell me that what we have are water guns when compared with what the drug cartels are using.'

The weaponry used by the cartels includes machine guns, grenades and grenade launchers, Gonzalez said, adding that the cartels also have expertise in the use of explosives.

Rick Glancey, who serves as the executive director of the Texas Sheriffs Border Coalition, says local law enforcement is hampered by financial and regulatory provisos that do not apply to cartels, which operate with seemingly unlimited resources.

'They have the ability to purchase military equipment where all we can do is purchase local law enforcement equipment,' he said. 'We'll never be able to see an even playing field. We just hope to be smarter.'

Both Glancey and Samaniego said some of the newer initiatives organized through the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition hold enormous promise.

'Operation Linebacker' was launched in September 2005 and holds great promise in the eyes of local law enforcement. Its central objective is to maximize resources on the state and local level. Since the operation went into effect, sheriffs have observed a significant reduction in both illegal immigration and various criminal activities.

Samaniego said that, within just a few weeks after the operation began, some problem areas for illegal immigration in the Del Rio region experienced as much as a 75-percent drop in the crime rate.

In response to the success of those border enforcement efforts, Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry expanded the concept, launching 'Operation Rio Grande.' The move assigns Texas Rangers, state troopers and members of the Civil Air Patrol to assist Operation Linebacker.

Perry also announced in June that the state would spend $20 million to continue Operation Rio Grande. The money has paid for body armor, night vision goggles, technology upgrades and overtime expenses.

Members of the sheriff's coalition agree that insufficient communications equipment is a major challenge that must be addressed.

Glancey would like to see some form of satellite communications availability. He's also concerned about the technical capacity cartels have to listen to the conversations of local law enforcers.

The border sheriffs' coalition insists that the positive results from Operation Linebacker prove that the right mix of ingenuity and willpower can secure the border and frustrate the drug cartels.

'These operations have proven to be very successful for the border,' Gonzalez said. 'Texas is the 'can-do state.' We are showing the federal government how it should be done.'