"I was not surprised to hear that many of them said they felt safer during trips to Iraq than they would have in a pickup truck on our southern border," Culberson told the House panel.
In particular, "increased violence in towns such as Laredo is frightening," he testified. "Business centers are closing down, tourism is declining, and the general population is demoralized by the level of lawlessness."
Laredo and its sister city directly across the border in Mexico - Nuevo Laredo - have been hard hit by drug-related violence. But authorities are not sure all the killing is related to drug cartels battling for turf and influence.
In an earlier interview with the Del Rio News Herald, Culberson was pointed in his criticism of lax border security, saying, "I'm concerned that one day I'm going to wake up to the news bulletins that there have been multiple massive truck bomb explosions in our major cities, set off by al-Qaida terrorists, and that we let them walk over the southern border while they pretended to be Hispanic immigrants."
Terrorists afoot
Culberson's warnings come on the heels of information regarding the recent arrest of a suspected al-Qaida operative in Mexico.
Tony Essalih, a spokesman for Culberson, told WND the alleged al-Qaida figure was picked up by Mexican authorities and had been held south of the border for a time before being moved to the United States.
He also said Culberson had been told of "paramilitary training camps" near Matamoras, Mexico - a city located across the Rio Grande River from Brownsville, Texas - which are allegedly being operated by special forces officers trained in Nicaragua and Guatemala and contain "terrorists and drug smugglers."
Essalih's claims were confirmed by Sheriff Arvin West of Hudspeth County, Texas - the state's third-largest county, located about 86 miles east of El Paso - who told WND the al-Qaida suspect was "residing in a community across the river and had been residing there for a while" before he was arrested.
It was not clear how authorities identified him.
West said that, according to information he was provided by Mexican authorities, it appears as though the suspect was monitoring border activity. He said communications found on him were in "code" to make it appear as though he were tracking migratory birds.
"He was part of al-Qaida," West said, adding, "The written communication that we were able to obtain was ... in the nature of code words." He said the alleged operative was transferred from Mexico to Brewster County, which borders Hudspeth County, "in the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service."
As to the camps, West said fellow law enforcement officials said they consisted of "several different nationalities," including Arab and "Chinese" ethnic groups.
"Basically, they are building up little communities," West said, adding he wasn't sure about any training but that the camps "were real secretive."
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
