AC: "Essentially, this war
is akin to an insurgency."
Monday, March 23, 2009
Length: 4:55
LARGE (68.2 MB)
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SMALL (6.1 MB)
Anderson discusses the cartel situation with
Michael in preparation for two days of live
broadcasts from the Mexican border later this
week.
ANDERSON
COOPER: Getting ready for the battle on the border.
President Obama may soon send more federal agents and
equipment to try and keep Mexico's war with murderous
drug cartels from slipping into the United States
more than it already has.
One senior official tells CNN they are trying to
prevent a spill over. But it may already be too late.
Mexican drug gangs are in hundreds of U.S. cities,
according to the Justice Department, some 230 as a
matter of fact. They say Mexican gangs are, in fact,
the largest organized crime threat in this country.
Scores of gang members were captured just in a recent
sweep. And just today "The New York Times" reporting
on a brutal home invasion in Tucson -- Mexican
traffickers pistol-whipping the homeowner, demanding
money. The guy's wife was bathing their 3-month-old
son when the thugs burst in.
The violence has killed thousands in Mexico. Victims
have been beheaded, kidnapped. It's also led the
State Department to issue a travel alert to the
country.
We're going to be broadcasting from the border later
this week, on Wednesday and Thursday. Michael Ware is
just back from a recent trip to the very dangerous
city of Juarez, right next door to El Paso, Texas.
He joins us now. How bad is it down there?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a war. It
is a war of sorts. Now, you have to make clear
distinctions between, say, the war on terror. This is
-- this is an insurgency over there, and this is a
holy war. This --
COOPER: The Mexican government has sent in the army,
the federal police...
WARE: -- this is a war over profit. So it's got an
entirely different dynamic. And you can't trust the
local police, because they're either so scared or
they're so corrupt. You can't trust the federal
police. So the Mexican president, within weeks of
coming into office in late 2006, sent troops across
his own country, more than 45,000 Mexican army
soldiers are out there doing what the police should
be doing.
And just after my trip to Juarez, there was already
2,000-odd soldiers. Now there's something like 7,000
in the three weeks since I left.
COOPER: The Obama administration has talked about
beefing up DEA agents, federal agents on the border.
We're already sending down -- I think we've committed
$1.3 or $1.4 billion --
WARE: One point four.
COOPER: -- right, in the Merida Accords, which are
largely for equipment to bring the federal police up
to international standards.
WARE: Well, this is $1.4 billion spread out over
three or four years, which is less than what we spend
in a week in Iraq. And this is a battle that's been
raging on America's border, virtually neglected for
years.
Now, we hear that President Obama is preparing to up
the support. He's going to send additional DEA and
ATF agents, increase in intelligence sharing. He's
trying to prevent the American weapons being smuggled
in, arming both sides. Has now kicked off a trade
dispute.
But, I mean, where has all this been for the last
seven years?
COOPER: Tactically what are the options now, though?
WARE: Well, it's a tough, tough fight. And the way
it's being fought right now, it can't be won.
COOPER: Why?
WARE: Essentially, this war is akin to an insurgency.
The cartels across the country on most estimates have
about 100,000 foot soldiers, many of them better
armed than the police and the military.
So what's at stake here are the people, the hearts
and minds of the people. You start making people feel
-- in cities like Juarez and Tijuana feel safe, then
they can point out the cartels. The cartels will have
to shift and move. But that's not going to happen.
So you've got two extremes, Anderson. This war is
being fueled by America's demand for illicit drugs.
You either curb that demand or you legalize it. That
takes away the profit motive. Or you have to
militarize.
COOPER: The attorney general of Mexico says, "Look,
you're not going to be able to stop demand in the
United States."
WARE: Nope.
COOPER: There's no way you're going to be able to do
that. It's most likely not going to be legalized.
What they're saying -- and they're saying that they
are seeing some success, that they are breaking down
these larger cartels and trying to make it no longer
a Mexican national security issue and make it just
smaller drug gangs and make it more of a police
issue, which can be handled by police.
WARE: Well, meanwhile, we're seeing the development
of a thing called the "Federacion," the federation. I
mean, this is some of the biggest drug cartels, who
are operating independently, form a union.
Then we see the Gulf cartel and this other group
called the Los Zetas. The Los Zetas were formed by
Mexican military Green Berets, who deserted and then
became the for-hire hit men. And now they're running
their own cartel with the Gulf cartel.
I'm telling you, the Obama administration has to find
a third way between settling demands and essentially
assuming military responsibility.
COOPER: Recent Pentagon report says Mexico, like
Pakistan, could be a failed state. It could be on the
brink of that.
We're going to be down there Wednesday and Thursday,
broadcasting a special 360. Michael, thanks. We'll
have Michael there, as well.
This week we're not just reporting from here, as I
said. We're going to be reporting on "The War Next
Door" from the border starting Wednesday night. We'll
be live at the front lines. Also from Mexico, a
country, as we've been talking about, on the
edge.