Jim Kouri, CPP
Law enforcement officials in Texas issued warnings Friday about Mexican pirates trolling the waters of a U.S.-Mexico border lake after a tourist was shot and killed while his wife escaped a hail of bullets and raced her Jet Ski back to American soil. The incident has renewed calls for federal action by border security advocates.
Search and rescue teams patrolled the U.S. side of Falcon Lake searching for Colorado tourist David Michael Hartley, 30, whose wife, Tiffany Hartley, told police he was shot in the back of the head Thursday after being ambushed by gunmen on boats.
The Texas Department of Public Safety announced during a press conference Friday that Hartley was believed to have been killed but his body had been found. The gunmen are suspected Mexican pirates who prowl Falcon Lake, a favorite spot for water-skiing and bass fishing. There have been five previously reported pirate attacks on that lake this year.
The shooting has led Texas officials to warn American boaters to use caution on the 60-mile lake, in addition to issuing its initial warning following three pirate attacks.
Although many Americans are outraged over this latest border incident, President Barack Obama and his Administration did not comment on the vicious attack on American citizens as well as the unbridled assault on Americans in general. During a press conference held by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, there was not one word about this unprovoked attack on U.S. citizens.
President Obama says he wants lawmakers in both houses of Congress to make progress this year on reforming the immigration system. However, he's not talking about how his administration is failing to protect citizens from criminal aliens, according to border security advocates.
"It's old news that the Mexican government exports Mexico's poorest citizens into the United States for a number of reasons: It relieves them of the responsibility of providing social and healthcare services for them; it provides their country's economy with an influx of US cash when these illegal workers send money they earn in the US back home; and it defuses problems with far-left groups who are usually successful in using the poor to advance their political agenda," said former intelligence officer and police detective Sid Franes.
"So the Mexican despots give the poor the 'bum's rush' out of Mexico: Here's your sombrero, here's a map, here's a bottle of water, now get out! And American political leaders such as President Barack Obama are too busy fiddling with the U.S. economy to do anything to protect American citizens," said Franes.
According to Lt. Steve Rogers, a decorated cop and award-winning writer, there are tens of thousands of murderers, rapists, child predators, robbers and drug dealers who are illegally in the United States. One study shows over 200,000 criminal aliens are preying on US citizens.
Border Patrol agents in the Tucson, AZ Sector have apprehended 27,834 illegal aliens with criminal records, 74 of which were for homicide. Last fiscal year, the Tucson Sector apprehended 14,506 illegal aliens with criminal records. These figures do not include the thousands of criminal aliens apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents or those in other Border Patrol sectors in other states. And it doesn't include the tens of thousands of criminal aliens who are able to escape detection at the border.
Crime and violence related to drug trafficking in Mexico and Central America have increased in recent years and pose a threat not only to those areas but to the United States as well, particularly along the Southwest border.
The Merida Initiative, announced in 2007, provides about $1.6 billion in law enforcement support to Mexico and Central American countries. The U.S. Department of State manages the Initiative while other U.S. agencies play key roles in implementation.
The U.S. Congress recently examined the status of Merida program implementation; Department of State's strategy for implementation; and coordination mechanisms in place for Merida.
To address these objectives, GAO reviewed agency documents; interviewed officials at State, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Defense, and other relevant agencies; and conducted fieldwork in Mexico and Central American nations.
The United States has delivered various equipment and training to Mexico under the Merida Initiative. While the pace of delivery has been slowed by a number of implementation challenges, it has increased recently.
As of March 31, 2010, 46 percent of Merida funds for fiscal years 2008 to 2010 had been obligated, and approximately 9 percent had been expended. In Mexico, U.S. agencies have delivered major equipment including five Bell helicopters, several X-ray inspection devices, law enforcement canines and training for their handlers, and training for over 4,000 police officers.
In Central America, U.S. agencies have delivered police vehicles and non-intrusive inspection equipment, and have provided various courses, including workshops on combating arms trafficking, and training on handling evidence from clandestine criminal laboratories.
Deliveries of equipment and training have been delayed by challenges associated with an insufficient number of staff to administer the program, negotiations on interagency and bilateral agreements, procurement processes, changes in government, and funding availability.
The Embassy Narcotics Affairs Section in Mexico City has more than doubled its staff resources since Merida was launched. While State has developed some of the key elements of an implementation strategy for the Merida Initiative, including a mission, strategic goals, and a resource plan, its strategic documents lack certain key elements that would facilitate accountability and management.
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