Valley lawmakers told Action 4 News a report commissioned by the Texas Department of Agriculture that called South Texas a ‘war zone’ is a complete misrepresentation of the border.
“I just got back from Iraq and Afghanistan…not those are war zones,” Congressman Henry Cuellar said.
“When you have to put on helmets and body armor---that’s a warzone.
We do have challenges but it’s certainly not a war zone.”
Cuellar said, this recent report not only did a disservice to law enforcement in South Texas, but also to those who live along the border.
“I know we have challenges, but it’s certainly not what they’re painting it out to be,” Cuellar said.
San Juan Police Chief Juan Gonzalez said our proximity to Mexico makes the Valley prone to violence---and that has been shown time and time again.
“We’ve seen the cartel move their command and control to this area,” Gonzalez started.
“We might not see it as frequently or as powerful as they do in Mexico but we’ve seen it in this area.”
Those who carry out these violent acts are the same ones, Gonzalez said, who wreak havoc across the border: associates and members of the powerful drug cartels.
“It’s being committed by individuals that have a connection to the cartel or street level gangs in the area,” Gonzalez said. “We see that violent crime.”
He said , those in Washington and here in the Valley need to stop pretending that the violence from Mexico did not make its way here months ago.
“We keep on preaching to the public that there is no violence in this area and yet we keep seeing the violence happening,” Gonzalez said.
“We need to realize that there is violence and we need to address it as such.”
He added that the only way the border ill ever be secure is if people start admitting there is a problem.
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