U.S., Mexican police agencies meet

Officials would not go into detail about their discussions in a second-story meeting room at the University of Texas at Brownsville, a campus so close to Matamoros, Mexico, it was evacuated last September because of stray gunfire.

But they assured news media it was part of a coordinated approach that would strengthen Mexican efforts to bring down drug cartels while helping Texas sheriffs and police departments prevent a spillover of cartel violence.

“In my 26 years of being in this business I've never seen the good will that you see today, the willingness to share information, the willingness to cooperate,” said Alonzo Peña, deputy assistant secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency hosting the summit.

Attendees included police chiefs from Laredo, Pharr, Brownsville, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico; port directors from Pharr and Brownsville; Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio; FBI special agent John Johnson; Tamaulipas attorney general Jaime Rodriguez; and Tamaulipas public safety secretary Jose Tijerina.

“It's the first occasion that we've had a meeting like this,” Tijerina said in Spanish. “We're talking about ways to share information, have bridges of cooperation and communication.”

Tamaulipas is considered home turf for the Gulf Cartel, now said to be in a brutal war to protect key routes for smuggling drugs and, in some cases, unauthorized immigrants into the United States.

The drug world's web of influence and corruption is said to extend to all levels of local government and law enforcement, prompting Mexican President Felipe Calderón to bring in the military to trouble spots nationwide.

Some of the bloodiest gunfights have broken out against soldiers deployed in border cities, forcing schoolchildren to cower under desks and leaving behind rows of bullet-ridden shops and cars.

Peña said ICE had met with Mexican military officials on other occasions, but Wednesday's session was designed to bring in trusted state and local officials.