In the last few years spent traveling to Mexico it became clear that Mexican drug syndicates are in control of the Mexico-U.S. border. To make matters worse a great percentage of Mexican politicians and law enforcement officials on both sides of the border are on the take. So now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag what are we to do?
Since the beginning of the last decade the Mexican drug cartels have managed to intimidate a good percentage of U.S.Customs Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to the point where they have become ineffective. Just read a few of the national dailies during the past two weeks and you'll get the picture.
Everyone moans on "ink": policy wonks, expert reporters, government officials, law enforcement agents, public opinion and even convicted criminals who "sang" long before they were locked away. Yet the White House doesn't listen?
You would think that State Department especially under the leadership of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and DOJ have enough evidence to create a forward thinking strategy? Wrong! No one wants to take responsibility to sort out the existing quesadilla and of course State isn't remotely close to deciphering the cultural divide.
Could a lack of interest be the problem? As my friend and colleague Andres Oppenheimer reminded me when he interviewed President-elect Obama and asked him to name five Latin American Presidents, he disgracefully stumbled on three.
The good news is that unlike many of our unprepared officials, the Mexican Ambassador to the United States Arturo Sarukhan, is one of the most intellectually sophisticated and by far the most astute representative that Mexico has appointed in a very long time. The question remains: now that he can play ball on our team why aren't we moving quickly? I suppose it's the same old case of "who's on first"?
Mexico's President Felipe Calderon is also a man of vision and a loyal friend to the United States. Since the beginning of his administration, be it to "legitimize his presidency" as Mexico's Former Minister Jorge Castaneda points out in his latest book Narco: La Guerra Fallida, or to solidify the same respect and trust that Colombia's President Uribe accomplished a few years back during the Bush administration, he has worked tirelessly to improve security issues and build bridges of trust between our two nations. To this day attempting to curb corruption and illicit trade between the two nations are at the cornerstone of his foreign policy agenda.
Despite our best efforts however, the United States continues to rebuke and offend. Our excuses are innumerable: we don't have the resources, the budget, or the adequate manpower to enforce security. Well boys what do we have?
Until a few months back we had only a ranting Lou Dobbs. Thank goodness everything is finite. So first thing's first; if you want to learn about the real issues facing our country vis-a- vis Mexico please don't watch the networks. They have an unwritten law about excluding some of the most challenging issues including immigration reform. Just pitch any network news director worth his salt an immigration-focused segment and you'll see what happens... He'll blink his eyes so wide you'll think he turned into Bambi!
I can almost guarantee that if we continue to walk down the same political minefield we will surely have fewer resources left to negotiate and certainly a ticking time bomb in the middle of our garden. And in much the same way that Miami imploded during the drug wars of the eighties- remember "Miami Vice"- we're about to implode in the southwestern states of our country unless we do something immediately.
In my humble opinion. For those of you who share my love and respect for Mexico, yet have a nagging concern for our safety and that of our children, you'll agree that in the spirit of neighborly affection we should pressure our government to become forward thinking in developing a mutually beneficial strategy and resolute in their tactical executions. Serious leadership from the top is what is needed and I mean sooner rather than later.
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