U.S. border police train Mexicans for drug fight

washington post ^ | April 23, 2010 | Tim Gaynor

[Flavius]

NOGALES, Arizona (Reuters) - In a warehouse in this Arizona border city, a U.S. Border Patrol trainer teaches a Mexican federal policeman to slip into a boxing stance and press a military assault rifle to his shoulder.

Taking aim at a silhouette just a few paces away, the policeman lets off a rapid burst of practice fire in an exercise designed to recreate the urban drug war raging just across the border in Mexico.

"They're getting into close-quarter combat all the time with the drug smugglers and the cartels," Border Patrol instructor Tom Pittman said during a break from training a group of nine Mexican federal agents on Friday.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Zetas 2.0

[stevie_d_64]

“It’s a collaborative effort to make both sides of the border safer,” Mark Qualia, a spokesman for the Border Patrol in Washington, said of the program, funded under Plan Merida, the $1.4 billion U.S. program started in 2007 to help Mexico fight the cartels.

“It’s a win-win for both countries.”

---

Looks like a lose-lose situation so far...

[darkwing104]

"It's a collaborative effort to make both sides of the border safer," Mark Qualia, a spokesman for the Border Patrol in Washington,

[BradtotheBone]

U.S. border police train Mexicans for drug fight???

Then who the #### is guarding the border!!!

[Ken H]

That has worked out so well in the past:

U.S.-trained forces reportedly helping Mexican cartels (Free Republic thread 05/15/2008)

WASHINGTON — As many as 200 U.S.-trained Mexican security personnel have defected to drug cartels to carry out killings on both sides of the border and as far north as Dallas, Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, told Congress on Wednesday.

-snip-

The renegade members of Mexico's elite counter-narcotics teams trained at Fort Benning, Ga., have switched sides, contributing to a wave of violence that has claimed some 6,000 victims over the past 30 months, including prominent law enforcement leaders, the Houston-area Republican told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

[BradtotheBone]

Yep, Ted Poe & John Culberson are the BEST US Representatives we have in Congress.

[MindBender26]

Lesson plan for all training necessary:

A: See potential target
B: Aim for center of visible mass
C: Squeeeeeeeeze
D: Repeat

[tumblindice]

“They’re getting into close-quarter combat all the time ...”
Then why aren’t they teaching you, Agent Pittman?

[count-your-change]

Skip the middle man, just have the U.S. train the drug cartel members.

[John-Irish]

So what’s the sub-text here? Mexicans are too stupid to figure out a training program for themselves? The American taxpayer has to do it?

[HiJinx]

Ping!

[cripplecreek]

Thank you.

[Nate505]

The border cops are training them? Because they are so successful and all.