U.S. making plans for Mexican border violence

According to a congressional House panel on Thursday, homeland security is developing a plan to respond to the escalating violence on the Mexico-U.S border.

The plan includes deploying military personnel and equipment to the region if homeland security agencies become overwhelmed.

"We would take all resources short of DOD and National Guard troops," said Homeland Security official Roger Rufe.

According to homeland security, military forces would be called in only when homeland security and other government agencies are overwhelmed. What exact circumstances would trigger the call for troops was not discussed.

The Mexican government has deployed 700 extra federal police to Ciudad Juarez, a city bordering El Paso, Texas, where local police have been overwhelmed by drug cartel violence. Earlier this month, 3,200 federal troops were sent to the city.

Mexican officials report that the violence killed 6,290 people last year - and over 1,000 in the first eight weeks of this year. U.S. law enforcement agencies have also reported that 1,000 people were killed in the first weeks of 2009.

Warring drug cartels have caused more than 560 kidnappings in Phoenix, Arizona in 2007 and the first half of 2008, and many killings in Atlanta, Georgia and Birmingham, Alabama.

"The Mexican drug cartels are the biggest organized crime threat to the United States", said Rufe.

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D. Brian Blackwell