DPS targets cartel-enlisted U.S. gangs
MISSION — The Texas Department of Public Safety is vowing to crack down on U.S.-based gangs that help support and facilitate Mexican drug cartel operations in the state.
DPS Director Steve McCraw is convinced that the Mexican cartels are outsourcing with gangs based in the Valley and elsewhere in the state, using them to transport drug loads to major U.S. cities once the contraband reaches U.S. soil.
“They are not just trying to bring the drugs to McAllen, they are trying to get the drugs into McAllen, then move them to the major metropolitan areas across the nation,” McCraw said. “You can’t be myopic. The enemy may be ruthless, (vicious) and, I will argue, cowardly for killing women and children and their other victims, but they aren’t stupid.”
McCraw, interviewed before doing a Valley flyover to review border security, said he agrees that its agency can do more checking of southbound vehicles at the bridges to look for weapons and money that are being smuggled into Mexico for the cartels. However, he added that whatever is done has to be down well and efficiently because the drug cartel members or their contracted U.S. representatives are always watching what authorities are doing and adapting their strategies.
For instance, cartel representatives carefully observe law enforcement authorities, watching for what they think will be the best times to smuggle their drug profits back to Mexico. The money frequently moves as large sums of cash because the cartels don’t use the banking system.
“It’s not like the money is going to spoil,” McCraw said.
“They know (what we do), and they’ve got unlimited budgets. When you get $20 billion dollars a year, you can afford to spend money and you can use gangs that are U.S. citizens who speak English and Spanish, to serve as spies and operators for you,” McCraw said.
State Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, introduced legislation Monday that will give more capability to DPS troopers to check southbound vehicles. Right now it is a Customs and Border Protection responsibility to check southbound vehicles for weapons and the bulk money that are fueling and financing the drug war in Mexico.
“We would love to see federal partners get sufficient resources to do thorough investigations at the bridges both northbound and southbound,” McCraw said.
McCraw was joined in the Valley flyover by State Sen. Steve Ogden, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who met Friday with Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa and several local leaders to discuss the budget deficit and how it could affect the Rio Grande Valley.
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Martha L. Hernández covers Mission, western Hidalgo County and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4846.
