“Traffic” Come to Life

While our country is far from perfect, the corruption of the third world is on a different level, vividly brought to life in the movie Traffic. Recent reports that Mexican soldiers and police are assisting drug smuggelers by providing armed escorts into U.S. territory are disturbing, but not so unusual. Regardless of the particulars of the latest invasion, there can be little doubt that Mexican authorities, police, and military personnel are involved in various ways in assisting the drug trade and violating U.S. sovereignty. Today’s report notes:

U.S. and Mexican officials on Tuesday were investigating a bizarre encounter between Texas lawmen and heavily armed intruders who were wearing Mexican military uniforms while evidently escorting a caravan of sport utility vehicles that was smuggling marijuana into the United States.

The smugglers, spotted on the U.S. side of the border in remote western Texas on Monday afternoon, hastily fled back into Mexico, leaving behind nearly a half ton of marijuana and setting one of their vehicles ablaze.

Although no shots were fired and no one was hurt, the episode — along with an incident in November — heightened fears that Mexican traffickers and U.S. border agents are headed for a potentially deadly confrontation. American officers, who have long complained about being outgunned along the border, point out that the armed men seen Monday were riding in a military-style Humvee equipped with what looked like .50-caliber machine guns. . . .

Earlier this month, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in California said Mexican military units or impostors had crossed into U.S. territory 216 times since 1996, citing a report from the Department of Homeland Security.

If we had any self-respect as a country, and if Bush were not so obsessed with courting Hispanics, we’d demand that these people be turned over for trial in the U.S. and impose serious sanctions, extending to military retaliation, if Mexico failed to do so. Invade us one time, shame on you. Invade us 216 times: we make Neville Chamberlain look like Genghis Kahn!