New Mexico Governor Says U.S.-Mexico Border Security is Improving
 E. Eduardo Castillo - Associated Press
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| | New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, left, delivers a speech as Jose Reyes Baeza, Governor of the Mexican state of Chihuahua, looks on during a meeting in Chihuahua, Mexico, Wednesday, May 7, 2008. Richardson and Baeza talked about border security and immigration. In background, a picture depicting former Mexico's President Benito Juarez. (AP/Eduardo Verdugo) | | |
Chihuahua, Mexico – New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Wednesday that he has seen an improvement in security along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Problems remain, but increased policing by state and federal authorities has significantly helped, said Richardson, a former U.N. ambassador and former Democratic presidential candidate.
“In my opinion, there has been a dramatic improvement in the last two months,” Richardson told reporters in the Mexican border state of Chihuahua, across from New Mexico, where he met with Chihuahua Gov. Jesus Reyes Baeza.
Richardson said he would ask U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza to reevaluate a travel alert, issued by the U.S. State Department in April, that warned U.S. citizens of rising violence in northern Mexico but stopped short of suggesting that Americans avoid traveling in the region.
The alert reflected an increase in drug-related homicides, shootouts, kidnappings and car thefts near the border, particularly in the cities of Tijuana, Chihuahua and Ciudad Juarez.
Ciudad Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferris, who also met with Richardson, said Mexican federal officials will evaluate all 1,700 police officers in his city, to weed out those with ties to organized crime.
More than 200 people have been killed so far this year in Ciudad Juarez, a city of 1.3 million across from El Paso, Texas that is home base for the Juarez cartel.
A wave of organized crime and drug-related violence has shaken Mexico in recent years, killing more than 2,500 people in 2007 alone. President Felipe Calderón sent more than 20,000 troops and federal agents to areas plagued by drug violence, including Chihuahua City and Ciudad Juarez. |
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Americas & Beyond | May 2008 
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