Some Welcome Perry’s Idea That US Send Troops To Mexico
By Angela Kocherga
JUAREZ, Mexico — When presidential candidate Rick Perry said the U.S. should consider sending troops to Mexico as it did Colombia to fight the drug war, reaction south of the border was swift.
It was the hot topic on national radio shows broadcast from Mexico City, where political analysts were outraged by the suggestion.
But south of the border, where people have had to deal with the brunt of the drug war, some ordinary residents were open to the idea after hearing Perry?s comment.
?It may require our military in Mexico working in concert with them to kill these drug cartels,? Perry said at a campaign event in New Hampshire.
Francisca Arrioja, a housewife in Juarez, said U.S. soldiers might be what?s needed to crack down on cartels.
?It would put an end to the problem, but it would lead to worse (violence),? Arrioja said.
The mother of three young boys worried that the backlash would result in more bloodshed in a city known as Mexico?s murder capital.
Juan Jose Rodriguez, who shines shoes on a street corner in downtown Juarez, welcomed U.S. troops. His customer, Gerardo Luna, agreed.
?If things are done correctly,” Luna said. ?I?m pretty sure they would help. I don?t know if they?d allow them to be here.?
Both the U.S. and Mexican governments call the current level of cooperation unprecedented, but the U.S. role in the drug war is limited to providing training and equipment to Mexican forces under the Merida Initiative.
The U.S. is sharing more intelligence about cartel activities with Mexico, and that has been critical to the effort to capture key traffickers and dismantle the top leadership.
But at least for now, at the highest levels the issue of sending troops to Mexico remains taboo.
When asked about U.S. troops on Mexican soil at a news conference in Washington, the Mexican Ambassador to the U.S., Arturo Sarukhan, said, ?That option is not on the table.?
