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Mexico City, January 25, 2006 – Today, I transmitted a Diplomatic Note requesting that the Government of Mexico fully investigate the January 23, 2006 incident in which individuals dressed in military uniforms, carrying military-style weapons, and using military vehicles apparently intervened to prevent a drug shipment from being intercepted by U.S. authorities operating lawfully within the United States. I sent the Diplomatic Note because this type of incident is indicative of the danger faced by our law enforcement officers daily along the border.
In the past several weeks, violence in the border region has increased markedly. Shortly, I will deliver a second Diplomatic Note in which we express our concern about the increased violence in Nuevo Laredo and several incidents in which our Border Patrol agents have been attacked along the border.
The murder rate in Nuevo Laredo has skyrocketed this January. Through January 25th, the city has recorded 20 homicides. Between December 28, 2005 and January 24, 2006, the United States Border Patrol in Laredo, Texas has recorded four separate incidents in which our agents have come under gunfire from across the river. Additionally, on January 23, a shootout in the city center of Nuevo Laredo occurred that was reminiscent of the street battles that plagued Nuevo Laredo last year and caused me to make the difficult decision of closing our Consulate there.
I am urging the Mexican Government to take this elevated violence seriously. In the past, there has been a tendency to focus on public relations instead of public security. I have frequently discussed with Mexican officials our “co-responsibility” for the security and welfare of our border communities. However, the continuing flow of undocumented migrants entering from Mexico, the increasing attacks against U.S. law enforcement officials from the Mexican side of the border, the public Mexican rhetoric describing U.S. efforts to control its border as “racist,” and efforts by Mexico to promote regional opposition to measures under consideration in the U.S. Congress, only serve to further polarize the debate on immigration and undermine the efforts of those who seek viable solutions to illegal immigration and border security.
The violence of late along our border highlights the need for increased enforcement efforts by the United States and serves to bolster the arguments of those who seek the creation of physical barriers along our border. It also makes recent assertions that the United States is somehow exaggerating the problems along our border all the more untenable, and highlights the inability of the Mexican government to police its own communities south of the border.
I am hopeful that we can face this current challenge with resolve and focus, and I have offered any and all additional cooperation that the U.S. Government can provide.
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