The U.S. Homeland Security Role in the Mexican War Against Drug Cartels
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THE U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY ROLE IN THE MEXICAN WAR AGAINST DRUG CARTELS HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT, INVESTIGATIONS, AND MANAGEMENT OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION MARCH 31, 2011 Serial No. 112–14 Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 72–224 PDF WASHINGTON : 2012 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY PETER T. KING, New York, Chairman LAMAR SMITH, Texas BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi DANIEL E. LUNGREN, California LORETTA SANCHEZ, California MIKE ROGERS, Alabama SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas HENRY CUELLAR, Texas GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia LAURA RICHARDSON, California CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois TIM WALBERG, Michigan BRIAN HIGGINS, New York CHIP CRAVAACK, Minnesota JACKIE SPEIER, California JOE WALSH, Illinois CEDRIC L. RICHMOND, Louisiana PATRICK MEEHAN, Pennsylvania HANSEN CLARKE, Michigan BEN QUAYLE, Arizona WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts SCOTT RIGELL, Virginia VACANCY BILLY LONG, Missouri VACANCY JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania BLAKE FARENTHOLD, Texas MO BROOKS, Alabama MICHAEL J. RUSSELL, Staff Director/Chief Counsel KERRY ANN WATKINS, Senior Policy Director MICHAEL S. TWINCHEK, Chief Clerk I. LANIER AVANT, Minority Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT, INVESTIGATIONS, AND MANAGEMENT MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas, Chairman GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts BILLY LONG, Missouri, Vice Chair YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi (Ex Officio) PETER T. KING, New York (Ex Officio) DR. R. NICK PALARINO, Staff Director DIANA BERGWIN, Subcommittee Clerk TAMLA SCOTT, Minority Subcommittee Director (II) C O N T E N T S Page STATEMENTS The Honorable Michael T. McCaul, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 1 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 4 The Honorable William R. Keating, a Representative in Congress From the State of Massachusetts, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management ........................................................................ 5 The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress From the State of Mississippi, and Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland Security ................................................................................................................. 7 WITNESSES PANEL I Mr. Luis Alvarez, Assistant Director, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 9 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 11 Mr. Brian A. Nichols, Deputy Assistant Secretary, International Narcotics Law Enforcement Affairs, Department of State: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 15 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 17 Mr. Frank O. Mora, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Western Hemi- sphere Affairs, Department of Defense: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 20 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 21 Ms. Kristin M. Finklea, Analyst, Domestic Social Policy Division, Congres- sional Research Service: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 23 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 24 PANEL II Mr. Jon Adler, President, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 66 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 68 Mr. David A. Shirk, Director, Trans-Border Institute, University of San Diego: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 69 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 71 Dr. John Bailey, Professor, Government and Foreign Service, Georgetown University: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 79 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 82 Dr. Ricardo C. Ainslie, Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 86 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 88 (III) IV Page FOR THE RECORD The Honorable Michael T. McCaul, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management: Statement of Thomas M. Harrigan, Assistant Administrator and Chief of Operations, Drug Enforcement Administration ............................................. 58 APPENDIX Questions From Ranking Member William R. Keating for Luis Alvarez ........... 99 Questions From Ranking Member William R. Keating for Brian A. Nichols ..... 101 Questions From Ranking Member William R. Keating for Frank O. Mora ....... 102 Questions From Ranking Member William R. Keating for John Bailey ............. 102 THE U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY ROLE IN THE MEXICAN WAR AGAINST DRUG CARTELS Thursday, March 31, 2011 U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT, INVESTIGATIONS, AND MANAGEMENT, COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:12 a.m., in Room 311, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Michael T. McCaul [Chairman of the subcommittee] presiding. Present: Representatives McCaul, Long, Duncan, Marino, Keating, Thompson, and Clarke. Also present: Representatives Cuellar, Green of Texas, and Jack- son Lee. Mr. MCCAUL. Good morning. The Committee on Homeland Secu- rity Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management will come to order. First order of business, I see we have three Members that would like to attend and sit in on this hearing, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Green, and Ms. Sheila Jackson Lee, and I ask unanimous consent that they be allowed to sit on the dais for the hearing today. Hearing no objection, so ordered. I now recognize myself for an opening statement. The hearing today is titled, ‘‘The U.S. Homeland Security Role in the Mexican War Against Drug Cartels.’’ Over the past year the in- crease in violence by the Mexican drug cartels has expanded to in- clude more brutal forms of violence and deaths of civilians and po- litical leaders. On March 13, 2010, cartel members killed three individuals, two of them U.S. citizens, connected to the U.S. consulate in Juarez, Mexico. On June 28, 2010, a Tamaulipas gubernatorial candidate was assassinated by a drug cartel. January through October 2010, 12 sitting mayors were assas- sinated. On February 15, 2011, Immigration and Customs Enforce- ment Special Agent Jaime Zapata was killed and his fellow agent, Special Agent Victor Avila, was wounded by the drug cartel known as the Los Zetas. March 2011, a law enforcement bulletin warned that cartels were overheard plotting to kill ICE agents and Texas Rangers guarding the border using AK–47s by shooting at them from across the bor- der. These are acts of terrorism as defined by Federal law. The shooting of Special Agents Zapata and Avila is a game- changer which alters the landscape of the United States’ involve- (1) 2 ment in Mexico’s war against the drug cartels. For the first time in 25 years the cartels are now targeting American law enforce- ment. I had the honor to sit down with Agent Avila and speak to him personally about the events that took place that tragic day, and he described the ambush to me as ‘‘pure evil.’’ Even at the Mexican hospital he described the fear he had that they would come back to finish the job, as they so often do. The agents were forced off a highway in Central Mexico in their vehicle bearing diplomatic license plates. Both agents pleaded for their lives in Spanish, identifying themselves as United States Fed- eral agents, as Americans, as diplomats. But the members of the Los Zetas cartel responded by firing more than 80 rounds from automatic weapons, killing Agent Zapata and wounding Agent Avila. I have been in contact with the Department of Justice after meeting