| | |  Americas & Beyond | April 2009 
US Lawmakers Vote for Mexico Border Funds
 Agence France-Presse
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| | Members of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) unit inspect a suspicious vehicle in San Ysidro, CA. (AFP/Hector Mata) | |
Washington – Alarmed by violence from Mexico's drug war, the US Senate voted Wednesday for a 550-million-dollar package to stop the southward flow of guns and money to cartels from US sources.
Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman and Republican Senator Susan Collins had introduced the measure, which aims to hire, train, equip and deploy more federal agents and investigators for the US-Mexico border region.
"The Mexican drug cartels are presenting an unprecedented security threat to the United States," Lieberman said as Washington ramped up its response to the border violence and looked for ways to help Mexico wage its campaign.
The Senate approved the initiative, an amendment to annual budget legislation, by a parliamentary procedure called unanimous consent, with no lawmakers objecting.
The amendment includes 260 million dollars for the US Customs and Border Protection to hire, train, equip and deploy 1,600 officers and 400 canine teams to toughen border inspections.
"Federal law enforcement officers and investigators are doing the best they can but they are understaffed and under equipped to take on the threat to American and Mexican security that the cartels pose," said Lieberman.
It also includes 130 million dollars for 350 full-time Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators to work on firearm trafficking and money laundering investigations.
Another 20 million dollars would aim to improve field communications between border patrol and immigration authorities, and a further 20 million to modernize technology to identify potential criminals at ports of entry.
The measure would also provide 50 million dollars to the US Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency to hire an additional 150 investigators and 50 inspectors to investigate firearms trafficking at the Mexican border.
Efforts to help local law enforcement in border areas, fight human trafficking, and boost staffing at the US embassy in Mexico would also get new funding.
"The US government has invested significant resources to prevent drugs from entering the United States. But, until recently, it has focused only limited resources on the supply of money and weapons going south to fuel the drug war," said Collins. |
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