Drug cartel gangs threatening border security, state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh says

It seems like the U.S. government is finally waking up to what is going on in El Paso !
Drug cartel members are everywhere , including El Paso , and everyone here has known it for a long time !
So what are they going to do ? Well I'm sure they will start a panel to discuss the findings of this new study , then in a year or two they will come out with their findings , which will suggest to little to late and out of date issues to tackle !



El Paso Times
EL PASO -- Gangs that work for drug cartels in Mexico are threatening the security of border communities such as El Paso, state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh said Thursday.

He said the presence of gangs associated with cartels had increased in eastern El Paso County.

"Based on anecdotal evidence, it appears that elements of gangs in Juárez, who are under pressure in Juárez, are moving their operations to the Mission Valley," said Shapleigh, D-El Paso. "We have received numerous reports of gang members living in the San Elizario, Socorro and Fabens communities of the Mission Valley."

Shapleigh had just returned from the Border Legislative Conference in Mexico City, where insecurity caused by drug violence was the top concern of lawmakers from both countries.

The flight of people from Juárez to El Paso prompted El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen early this year to seek funding for 1,100 M4 assault rifles. The city approved his request, using a federal grant to pay for the weapons.

Awesome , but will they be allowed to use them without being prosecuted ?

Mexican authorities have reported fierce battles across the border from the valley, in Valle de Juárez communities such as Guadalupe, Caseta and El Millon, for control of the Rio Grande corridor.

But Shapleigh said he was hopeful because high-level U.S. officials are to announce a policy development in U.S.-Mexico bilateral relations later this month. He said the federal policy would build on a recent fact-finding mission involving the entire border.