Edinburg (Texas) slayings spark anti-drug push from lawmaker

The Brownsville Herald ^ | 01/07/03 | STEVE TAYLOR

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AUSTIN — A Rio Grande Valley lawmaker in whose district six men were shot to death early Sunday has called for more federal and state dollars to fight the war on drugs.

State Rep. Aaron Peña, who lost a son of his own to drugs in 2001, said the Texas-Mexico border region was rapidly becoming a war zone due to the proliferation of cocaine and marijuana, and associated violent crime.

The claim was not disputed by Edinburg Chief of Police Quirino Muñoz or Hidalgo County’s drugs task force commander Lupe Treviño Monday, even though the massacre on Monte Christo road has yet to be confirmed as drug-related.

"How many people have to die before the leadership in Austin or Washington hears our cries?" asked Peña, D-Edinburg, Monday. "Do they not hear the wailings of the thousands of parents who have lost their children to the flood of drugs that have inundated our community?"

Peña, who plans to file a bill during the upcoming legislative session to bring a substance abuse rehabilitation and detoxification center in the Rio Grande Valley, said that if the Edinburg shootings had occurred in well-known gated communities in Texas, such as in Dallas’ Highland Park, Austin’s Westlake Hills, or Houston’s River Oaks areas, rather than a South Texas colonia, there would be much greater political and media interest.

"Drugs are rapidly turning the Texas-Mexico border into a war zone that will spread to our larger cities if this state continues to place the drug problem at the bottom of its priorities," he said.

Edinburg police chief Muñoz said there was a "very strong possibility" Sunday’s killings were related to drug running. He said that part of the county was a well-known corridor for the transportation of drugs.

Muñoz said his area could use more personnel, equipment and training, and that he supported calls for stronger anti-drug education programs in schools and a more "aggressive" rehabilitation effort.

"We’re on the frontline. We’re the ones that have to deal with the crimes generated by drug usage and trafficking," he added. "Whether the funding comes from local, state, or federal sources, we need more help."

According to Dave Wanser, executive director of the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, increased security measures since the 9/11 terrorist attacks have resulted in more illegal drugs from Mexico and Latin America being dumped in the Valley.

Wanser added that people from other parts of the United States were flocking to border towns to use a plentiful and cheap supply of drugs.

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[Black Bart]

Yeah, that's what we need. More money spent. More governmental programs. How about appointing an administrative Drug Czar? That should really help in a big way.

[mamalujo]

Nothing is going to change until we can control the flow in and out of the border, and that I feel will never change.
(speaking from south central Texas)

[MrLeRoy]

"A Rio Grande Valley lawmaker in whose district six men were shot to death early Sunday has called for more federal and state dollars to fight the war on drugs."

He then called for dousing fires with gasoline.

[steve50]

Anything happen to the Dallas Drywall Cartel boys from last year? That story went nowhere.

[Gigantor]

"A Rio Grande Valley lawmaker in whose district six men were shot to death early Sunday has called for more federal and state dollars to fight the war on drugs."

"He then called for dousing fires with gasoline."

My 10th grade Science teacher was one of the scientists who invented Napalm. I'll never forget how he described, with glee, the way he and his crew would break out in uncontrollable laughter at the thought of the Viet Cong firefighters bewiderment at the fire growing when water is added. The more water they add, the bigger the fire gets, and the VC just can't understand.

Still makes me chuckle to this day.

[jmc813]

WOD Ping

[dcwusmc]

Boy, are YOU stuck in the '70s. We tried that and it didn't work so they gave up and went back to being Constitutional... or am I dreaming again?

[Chuckster]

"How many people have to die before the leadership in Austin or Washington hears our cries?"

How many people have to die before someone opens up a history book (One written before 1960) and reads the chapter about the failed experiment known a "Prohibition"?

[jenny65]

State Rep. Aaron Peña, who lost a son of his own to drugs in 2001, said the Texas-Mexico border region was rapidly becoming a war zone due to the proliferation prohibition of cocaine and marijuana, and associated violent crime.

When will they learn?