Monday, November 5, 2007
Why Mexican and US Officials Downplay Border Incursions
By Nancy Conroy
Violent confrontations with
drug smugglers along the border increasingly involve spectacular, attention grabbing shootouts. These border incursions infuriate many Americans, especially when both US and Mexican authorities ignore
or downplay these episodes. But it is not in anyone’s best interest to
dwell on the border incursions too much, especially considering today’s raging anti-immigrant political environment. These incidents can be used to escalate hatred, which could lead to militarization
of the border. When considering the big picture, it is more sensible to downplay
these incidents than to emphasize them.
The main reason why politicians
refuse to address the border incursions is because this is a political hot potato that strikes at man’s greatest fear. It is an age-old truth: border incursions cause war.
And they have caused armed conflict in the past between the US and Mexico. In
1916, Pancho Villa conducted cross-border raids into US territory, which prompted US General John J. Pershing to draw up an
army to go after him. Wise men on both sides of the border remember history,
and have little desire to walk that path again. So they ignore or even deny the
problem’s existence, which is a not a bad approach. Potential war provocations
should play no role in modern US-Mexican diplomacy.
Although they are often called
“border incursions,” these frontier shootouts should not be referred to by that term. Border incursions occur when military personnel tread on foreign territory, but these incidents are caused
by drug dealers. Under a more expanded definition, a border incursion could occur
if the government purposely sends assassins to the US, if the President himself were a patron of the drug cartels, or if the
incidents reflected the will of the Mexican people. But none of these conditions
exist.
Calderon is a credible leader
in the war on drugs, and the Mexican people dislike crime as much as we do. Some
people argue that the Mexican government is responsible because they should control their own criminals, but Mexico lacks
that capability. These outlaws are criminals in their own country, too, and Mexicans
cannot do anything about it. Thus the term “border incursion,” with
its implication of state action and deliberate intent, should be discarded to avoid confusion.
Things become tricky, however,
when the perpetrators are dressed in military uniforms. Reasonable Americans
who don’t understand the big picture witness these incidents and conclude that the Mexican military is a criminal organization. That conclusion is incorrect, and is bad for US-Mexican relations. The Mexican military is one of the most corruption-free institutions in the entire country, and they play
a vital role in Felipe Calderon’s war on drugs.
But MexiData.info columnist
Allan Wall has now pointed out there is evidence that members of the Mexican armed forces may have joined the drug dealers. Like every institution in Mexico, even the military does have
some corrupt elements. But it is pointless to emphasize the bad when the military’s
overall record is very positive.
Accusing the military of corruption
is unnecessary and dangerous, because that fans the flames of existing hatreds. Anger
against illegal immigrants is raging in the United States, and there is a risk that this anger will morph into a new crusade
against Mexican drug dealers.
According to the Wall Street Journal (“Shift is Afoot on the Mexican Border,” October 25, 2007), illegal immigrant
smugglers and drug dealers are now apparently merging their operations. Increased
border enforcement means that illegal crossings are now harder and more expensive, so drug cartels have taken over the business. Illegal immigrant apprehensions used to be peaceful, but now they turn into shootouts. It only takes a few of these incidents for the US public to simply lump illegal aliens
into the same category as drug dealers, and despise them all equally. In this
explosive environment, it is hardly productive to concoct reasons to add the Mexican military to this growing list of villains.
Generalized anti-Mexican sentiment
provides a perfect excuse for militarizing the border, which is already on the horizon.
Blackwater USA, a private mercenary company that is currently under congressional investigation in the US for human
rights abuses in Iraq, is attempting to build a training camp in California along the US-Mexican border. They have already admitted that they are seeking contracts to patrol the border, and other private security
firms have submitted similar proposals. Any “military border incursion,”
real or imagined, is welcome news to Blackwater, because it could lead to millions of dollars in security contracts. Anyone wishing to avoid the “Blackwater on the Border” scenario is advised
to downplay border shootouts, because the likely solution is worse than the problem.
Wise leaders should choose
their battles carefully, and it is not in the best interest of US-Mexican relations to overemphasize the border skirmishes.
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Nancy Conroy, a MexiData.info
guest columnist, is the Editor/Publisher of northern Baja California’s biweekly Gringo Gazette. She can be reached via e-mail at nancy@gringogazettenorth.com.
