Generals Testify of Drug Cartels' National Security Threat, Need to Secure Border

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two decorated, retired U.S. Army Generals testified during a Homeland Security oversight hearing that the Mexican drug cartels are increasing their operational presence in the United States, are responsible for violent crimes on U.S. soil and pose a threat to our national security. The latter point was most recently underscored by Iran’s thwarted plot to contract with a drug cartel toassassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S.

“This is a threat. This is one that we have been warning about for years. This makes it that much more imperative that the border is secure,” said Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX), who chaired Friday’s hearing, and demonstrated Iran’s connections to the Western Hemisphere. “In 2008 the… Sinaloa drug cartel was sending elite assassins to train on weapons and explosives with Islamic radicals in Iran. We know there is heavy presence of Hezbollah in the western hemisphere. Here we have the Iranian operative who thinks he’s contracting with these drug cartels.”

“As we get better at detecting and tracking terrorists from these named countries, theterrorists get more committed at coming to America through our unprotected borders,” testified General Robert Scales, who co-authored the report. “If a guy from Iran shows up, and has a million and a half dollars to smuggle him across the border, they are more than happy to do it. Our great concern is how many have we missed?”

“It’s hard to imagine us protecting America from a terrorism threat if we don’t have a unified federal law enforcement strategy to protect America’s borders,” said General Barry McCaffrey, the report’s lead author.

The Generals’ testimony, based on their report Texas Border Security: A Strategic Military Assessment released last month, further asserts that “federal agencies have yet to establish effective operational control of much of the border and that the drug cartels are attempting to establish safe havens in Texas as a launching point into the rest of theUnited States.

Their strategy, according to the report, is to influence all levels of government throughout the Americas and establish sanctuary zones in the U.S. one county deep. The report further cites poorly resourced U.S. tactical efforts to stop cartel incursions, vulnerability to corruption, and the increasing likelihood that competition to control distribution territories and corridors will result in greater violence in Texas, as the Mexican military gains more control in Mexico.

While critics cite statistics that indicate cities such as El Paso are safe based on the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, both Generals reminded the panel that much of the violence and incursions occur in porous, rural areas, and that the UCR does not take into account crimes such as kidnappings and extortions notoriously carried out by cartels.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples (R-TX), who commissioned the report, cautioned getting too wrapped up in statistics. He cited FBI disclaimers that UCR statistics “are incomplete analysis that often creates misleading perceptions”.

“We are not here today to focus on statistics,” Staples testified. “The purpose of the report was to move beyondwhat comments might be made by elected leaders and to put this into the hands of those who have impeccable credentials, and I think from what I have heard, we are all in agreement that we don’t want to surrender one part of Texas or one part of America to these drug cartel members.”

“What I would like to do is cut through the politics for a minute,” said Gen. Scales, citing recommendations in his report to stop cartel advancement including improvedcommunications and intelligence gathering, more resources at the tactical level, increased joint U.S.-Mexico operations, and more cost-effective, off-the-shelf technology.

“As we draw down in the Afghan conflict, it is my hope that we can channel those resources to this threat,” said Rep. McCaul, who has long advocated for use of existing DOD resources to secure the border, and yesterday passed several amendments through the Homeland Security Committee to double resources to intercept southboundweapons and cash, and streamline the agency.

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