Corruption in the border patrol forces is increasingly becoming a major worry for law enforcement officials
A spate of recent incidents has raised the uncomfortable question of corruption at the borders once again. With no signs of the Mexican drug cartels weakening, and despite surveillance at the borders being at its highest level, nearly 100 officers have been found guilty in the last five years.
Tackling drug trafficking along with foiling illegal immigration are two of the major tasks of the border patrol officers.
The real worry, according to experts, is the infiltration in law enforcement does not even have to be widespread to be successful. “All it takes is one per shift at key plazas along the border,” says Bill Conroy, an investigative journalist who has spent a number of years covering the drugs wars along the Southern border and writes for Narcosphere.
The El Paso Bridge, Conroy says, is one such place where the presence of one corrupt official could result in tons of dope being smuggled in. Most officers who do get drawn to the other side feel they are underpaid or under-appreciated for their work according to Conroy.
And the worrying part is that smugglers don’t even have to worry about how long some of the officers stick with them. “Corrupted law enforcers are as replaceable as heroin addicts should an operation be compromised,” Conroy says.
A U.S. Senate report revealed that of those hired in the last five years, less than 15 percent have undergone a polygraph test. President Obama recently signed a bill requiring all border patrol job applicants to undergo polygraph tests.
But this isn’t a new problem. As far back as the early ‘90s, Conroy had written several investigative stories examining the trend at the border.
The fear is that greater success in interception of drug shipments means the cartels will rely more on trying to corrupt officials manning the border posts.
Sylvia Longmire, who has authored a book on Mexican drug cartels says, “It might be an issue to worry about more than we already worry about corruption within any law enforcement agency.
“The level of corruption among these agents is still pretty low,” she says, “but I am concerned that the number of cases is rising every year.”
Longmire says that the broader picture paints a frightening reality. “Our demand for illegal drugs, as a nation, fuels the drug war, and that’s not a tolerable situation,” she says.
Conroy says the solution may not necessarily lie in the practices of the border patrol officers. Polygraphing, increased vigilance and the anti-corruption drives are still unlikely to plug all the holes.
“We, as a nation, have chosen to prohibit a product that we as a nation consume in massive quantities,” Conroy says. “It sets up a situation ripe for abuse, corruption and pretense.”
He adds, “It seems to me that you can’t solve that problem without seriously considering alternatives to prohibition.”
