Border ‘surge' vexes locals

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has a contingency plan to send federal agents and military personnel to the border if Mexican drug violence spills into the United States.

However, local law enforcement officials say they were never informed of DHS' plan before details were leaked to The New York Times last week.

"They should have come to talk to us," said Sheriff Omar Lucio. "None of these people know the border like we do."

DHS officials say the plan will be implemented only if local agencies are overwhelmed.

"The plan contemplates any number of contingencies," said DHS spokeswoman Amy Kudwa, "offering resources to local authorities if they should need them."

Kudwa said that local agencies will be briefed in the coming months.

Lucio was surprised by DHS' plan, which could include sending aircrafts and armored vehicles to the Rio Grande Valley. He said the sheriff's department has its own contingency plan in case of a spike in drug-related violence.

"We've had our own plan for more than a year," he said. "But I'm not going to divulge any details."

In Hidalgo County, Sheriff Lupe Trevino has issued fully automatic weapons to officers patrolling the Rio Grande, instructing them to return fire if Mexican criminals start shooting across the border, according to The Associated Press.

Lucio wouldn't confirm any such plans, but he mentioned that the department's armored truck was, in part, purchased last year to protect the community from cross-border crimes.

Five thousand people were killed as a result of drug-related violence in Mexico last year. In October, an attack in Matamoros including assault rifles and grenades injured several people. But the region has remained quiet compared to Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana, which have seen a pronounced spike in violence.

In 2008, there were 1,600 homicides in Juarez and 800 homicides in Tijuana.

Mexico's warring drug cartels have left Cameron County essentially unscathed as of late. But Lucio said the violence across the border has brought concerned congressmen from throughout the country to the Valley.

"They don't want anyone to know about it," he said, "but they come to see what's happening here - how we're securing the area."

And if congressmen are willing to consult local law enforcement agents, he said, then the same should be expected from cabinet officials.