Border Report/Fighting Cartels on the Camino Real Corridor/Merida II

8/9/2019 Border Report/Fighting Cartels on the Camino Real Corridor/Merida II

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Re: “Fighting Cartels on the Camino Real Corridor/Merida II”

Dear John,

I write to update you on the situation in Juarez.

Over the last few weeks, approximately 250 experts from Washington,D.C. and Mexico, D.F. representing a dozen agencies have been on theground in Juarez, San Diego, Tijuana and other Border communities ona fact-finding mission to inform a policy review and assessment of thefundamental policy changes critical to US-Mexico bilateral relations.

Their basic plan is to frame Merida II around four key policy objectives:federal security, local/state security, jobs, and socioeconomic concerns.Key interest groups here and in Mexico want to broaden the policydiscussion further to include the trillion-dollar annual (and growing)demand for drugs in the United States.

Many see the recent massacre of two adults and thirteen innocentteenagers in Juarez as the “tipping point” to catalyze political change inMexico. President Calderon’s recent visits to Juarez have spurred anegative response unlike any seen since the 1910s. A mother of one of the teenage boys murdered by the cartel told President Calderon to “leave Juarez” after his administration accused all the teenage victims of beingcartel members. In the President’s defense, he permitted her to vent heranger on national television.

During his visits to Juarez, President Calderon admitted that hisadministration's current policies are not working and ordered membersof his cabinet to remain in Juarez until his return to accept feedbackfrom the community on his new proposals.

Later in March, U.S. and Mexican counterparts will meet to finalize theirrecommendations, which they will then present in D.C. and to state andlocal governments. Later, both Presidents will meet to formalize and sign



Merida II. Key recommendations will come from the San Diego/Tijuanaand El Paso/Ciudad Juarez ports, which are among the most importantmanufacturing/logistics regions in North America. In fact, 20% of NAFTAmanufacturing output is from the Juarez, El Paso, Southern New Mexicoregion. The U.S. Trade Representative, Ron Kirk, acknowledged the

significance of U.S.-Mexico trade and noted that cross-border tradesurpasses $1 billion a day. Ambassador Kirk also has stronglyemphasized that we should continue to strengthen our relationship andenable businesses to take advantage of trade opportunities. Today, Texas trades more with Mexico than all the European Union combined,so clearly, Texas strategic interests are at stake.

Our office is working 24-7 on three key economic and infrastructurerecommendations that our office and the Border Legislative Conference,state lawmakers of the ten U.S. and Mexican border states have

promoted with the Bush Administration, various Governors and inparticular, Governor Rick Perry for several years now:

1) Secure Manufacturing tax credits for key, emerging clusters, aimedat restoring 100,000 lost jobs, which are a contributing factor inthe unrest in Juarez;

2) El Paso County Secure Border Trade Demonstration Program: Theexpanded pilot program would equip 1500 commercial trucks withstate-of-the-art intelligent transportation system devices to securecargo and transmit key data into a central repository where the

data can be analyzed by software agents to detect anomalies thatmay have comprised the security of the protected cargo. Thissecure, fast, smart technology pilot will eliminate 8-hour waits forcommercial traffic; and,

3) 21st Century Mass Transit - El Paso and Ciudad Juarez: A 3.5mile City of El Paso proposal, linked to proposals from theMunicipio De Juarez to build a 10 mile cross-border, commuterrail to safely and quickly link Juarez/El Paso business andeducation institutions that uses biometric identifiers to ensuresecure, fast movement of international mass transit passengers

across the Border. Secure systems like this have long been used inCanada, Europe and even in the Green Zone in Baghdad; inSeattle-Vancouver, a similar a rail system has been in use for years.

Increasingly, policymakers are realizing that the blunt-force securityfocus of the last eight years has shut down secure, lawful manufacturingby the 3,500 Fortune 500 companies doing business in the ten Border







of the level of violence, and the critical concentration of North Americanmanufacturing capacity is internationally significant, and deserves thefull attention of the U.S. and Mexican Governments and responsibleleaders in the State of Texas.

After the Senate Homeland Security and Transportation Committee’slatest visit to El Paso in November 10, 2009, we organized a “FightingInternational Criminal Enterprise in the Camino Real Corridor” taskforce. The role of this taskforce is to make policy recommendations that arealigned with proven strategies for combating international, cross bordercriminal enterprise such as asset forfeiture, kingpin apprehension andbetter actionable intelligence between agencies. Our report will be madeavailable to the Committee by June 1st.

Some time in August, (or earlier depending on Merida II) we want to have

an expert panel brief the Committee and relevant state officials on theemerging areas of consensus on policy and resource reallocation. Severalkey initiatives will require strong state leadership and coordination,especially among law enforcement, infrastructure investment andeconomic incentives. We will ask you to hold this meeting as a jointhearing with the Senate Economic Development Committee given theoverlapping nature of these issues and our jurisdiction. We have copiedboth Governor Rick Perry and Lt. Governor Dewhurst with this letter.

We so appreciate your keen interest, compassion, and leadership onthese critical issues facing Texas, the United States and Mexico and

especially “fronterizos” who call the Borderlands our "home."

Very truly yours,

Senator Eliot ShapleighD—God’s Country

Border Report/Fighting Cartels on the Camino Real Corridor/Merida II

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