Not ‘A Mile’ of Border Secure, Texas Sheriff Says

Texas Sheriff Tomas Herrera said he does not agree with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano’s assessment that security at the U.S.-Mexico border is “better than it has ever been.” Herrera, in a telephone interview with CNSNews.com, said that not “a mile” of the 85-mile stretch of border in Maverick County, Texas, which is separated from Mexico by the Rio Grande River, is secure. He said the violence generated by Mexican drug cartels is spilling into the United States as cartel members come into Texas to kidnap teenagers for their smuggling operations. “They come in and kidnap some of our citizens in this county and take them into Mexico,” Herrera told CNSNews.com. “We’re talking about young kids.” “These are high school kiddos and junior high kids that are used by the cartels to smuggle drugs into the United States,” said Herrera, who has been in law enforcement for 37 years and has served as sheriff of Maverick County for five. Herrera, who was honored last week by the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition for his "significant law enforcement leadership in protecting the State of Texas and its citizens,” said he could not provide details about any of the cases, as the investigation into the alleged crimes is ongoing. But the local newspaper in Eagle Pass, Texas, The News Gram, published a story on March 31 based on a press conference held by the Eagle Pass Police Department and an official from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s regional office. Law enforcement officials warned parents to tell their children about the dangers of associating with drug cartel members. In one case, still under investigation, a 17-year-old boy was picked up “and held captive in Mexico while his family collected enough money to pay a ransom,” the article stated...more