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EL PASO -- Civilian and military law enforcement agencies are ready to be mobilized in case drug cartel-related violence spreads into the U.S., officials with the Department of Homeland Security said.
The revelation came forth in a New York Times article citing a plan by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that would confront the drug cartels with military action. The plan involves the mobilization of area police departments and military personnel in addition to the use of armored vehicles, aircraft and special teams.
"If we get a significant spillover, we have the surge capability to bring in -- not only our own assets -- but to even work with the Department of Defense," said Chertoff in the article.
Many El Pasoans ABC-7 spoke with said the proposed plan is needed to protect the city. Some said its mere existence is prove the situation in Mexico is getting worse. "I'm sorry to see it come to that point in our lives, but all that stuff is going on," a local resident said.
Juarez has descended into chaos as rival drug cartels battle for drug routes into the U.S. More than 1,600 people were killed in the city in 2008 alone.
After pointing out he had no prior knowledge of the plan, El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said he's glad it's in place. "It's basically news to me, but you have to have a contingency plan in case anything extreme were to take place," he said.
Still, Allen said his officers have things under control north of the Rio Grande and some in El Paso agree with him, adding troops along the border would be an overreaction to the situation. "It would be strange, it's not necessary and I think it's just going to hurt the cross-border economy even more," said a local resident.
Another resident told ABC-7 he thought the plan was not really thought out. "Chertoff has demonstrated a knee-jerk reaction to situations," he said, "You can compare it to him building a wall around the border and expecting that to solve the problem down here."
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