Border Crackdown by Homeland Security
By: RNS
Updated: March 24, 2009
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has announced a crackdown along the U.S.-Mexico border to combat growing drug-related violence. She said there will be twice as many law enforcement officers stationed along the border.
The number of Homeland Security intelligence analysts in that multi-state region will be tripled, with efforts ramped up to seize weapons going into Mexico from the U.S.
Homeland Security also will intensify its operations targeting money laundering, which is an integral part of the drug trade.
More than 5,000 people have died in gun battles between drug gangs in northern Mexico in the past year alone.
Napolitano also said drug-related kidnappings have increased in cities like Phoenix, Arizona, in recent months.
