The Mexico City newspaper El Universal trumpets the story in a double-deck headline across the top of its front page today: "U.S. Acknowledges that Narco Has Corrupted Its Border."
The source of the story, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes, told the newspaper about a new threat posed by the ability of drug traffickers to corrupt Americans with their cash.
Those who have sold out "aren't just police, aren't just military," Reyes said. "They are people who know how to use bombs, who know how to use technology. And that is a big concern for us." The story added no other details about the nature of the threat.
Reyes, who was raised near the border city of El Paso, was elected to Congress in 1996, after completing 26 years of service with the Border Patrol. He managed Border Patrol operations in the McAllen and El Paso areas from 1984 to 1995.