Identifies Mexican cartels as most significant organized crime threat

AUSTIN

The Department of Public Safety (DPS) has released the 2013 Texas Public Safety Threat Overview, a state intelligence estimate that offers a review of current public safety threats to Texas. DPS Director Steven McCraw highlighted the report’s key findings this week at the 2013 Texas Emergency Management Conference in San Antonio. “DPS relies on an arsenal of tools to combat the myriad public safety and homeland security threats facing our state, ranging from natural disasters to organized crime and cyber attacks,” said DPS Director McCraw. “It is paramount that DPS and our law enforcement partners be prepared when the unthinkable happens, and this assessment specifically identifies the most significant threats that we must contend with.” The report draws on the information and perspectives of multiple law enforcement and homeland security agencies, whose contributions were invaluable to developing this assessment. The report also details the state’s systematic approach to detecting, assessing and prioritizing public safety threats within seven separate categories: crime, terrorism, motor vehicle crashes, natural disasters, public health threats, industrial accidents and cyber threats. The report identifies Mexican drug cartels as posing the most significant organized crime threat to the state. Six of the eight cartels currently have command and control networks operating in the state, moving drugs and people into the United States, and transporting cash, weapons and stolen vehicles back to Mexico. “The impact of cartel crime is painfully obvious when we look to our neighbors in Mexico, with some 60,000 deaths since 2006 and continued cases of brutal torture,” said Director McCraw. “It is a top DPS priority to severely obstruct the range and power of Mexican drug organizations to affect the public safety of Texas citizens.”

Additional significant findings include:

•       Statewide prison gangs pose the second most significant organized crime threat in Texas. Many gangs now work directly with the Mexican cartels, gaining substantial profits from drug and human trafficking. Prison gangs operate within and outside the prison system, and are responsible for a disproportionate amount of violent crime.

•       Criminal aliens, who may not be affiliated with cartels and gangs, also pose a threat. From October 2008 to December 2012, Texas identified a total of 141,982 unique criminal alien defendants booked into Texas county jails. These individuals are responsible for at least 447,844 individual criminal charges, including 2,032 homicides and 5,048 sexual assaults.

•       Criminal organizations and individuals are engaging in the exploitation and trafficking of children for financial gain. These heinous crimes subject children to violence, extortion, forced labor, sexual assault and prostitution. Some children are more vulnerable to exploitation, including unaccompanied alien children, as well as those who are lost, missing or abducted. There are currently 76,272 sex offenders registered in Texas, and at least 60,871 of these offenders had a child victim.

•       Most recently, terrorism has become disaggregated with individual and would-be terrorists acting alone engaged in jihad. Nidal Hasan is the most prominent example of this type of terrorist, killing 13 U.S. servicemen at Fort Hood on November 5, 2009. Over the past five years in Texas, there have been four other Islamic extremist plots and two anti-government terrorist plots. In addition, there have been documented incidents of foreign nationals with links to terrorism entering the United States from Mexico using existing human trafficking and human smuggling networks operated by the cartels, though not in an active conspiracy with the cartels.

•       Motor vehicle crashes killed 3,353 people in Texas in 2012. Of all the contributing factors to motor vehicle crashes, driving under the influence of alcohol stands out for the number of deaths that it causes.

•       Natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes and tropical storms, tornadoes, drought, and wildfires represent a continued and highly unpredictable public safety threat. These disasters result in deaths, loss of infrastructure, and billions of dollars in personal property damage and economic losses.

•       Major industrial accidents are a potential threat to public safety, considering the large industrial base in Texas, which includes the petrochemical industry, 212,000 miles of regulated gas and oil pipeline, and the tons of hazardous materials that are shipped by rail across 10,384 miles of freight rail track.

•       Emerging infectious viruses, such as West Nile which killed 95 people in Texas since 2010, as well as re-emerging infectious diseases such as drug-resistant tuberculosis, are a serious concern to health professionals and the public because of their potentially severe health consequences.

•       Cyber threats are a growing area of concern as well, and they have the potential to cause serious consequences to Texas. Of particular concern are possible threats to critical infrastructure and agencies that provide essential services to the public, including utilities, public health, firefighting and law enforcement.

To view the complete 2013 Texas Public Safety Threat Overview, visit:             http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/media_and_communications/threatOverview.pdf.

Data providing officials with greater forecasting tools for state planning  

(San Antonio)

Ongoing research at The University of Texas at San Antonio Institute for Economic Development is serving as the preeminent resource to state and local officials in forecasting the evolving economic impact of the Eagle Ford Shale. The Eagle Ford Shale is a 50 mile-wide by 400 mile-long formation that runs from the southern portion of Texas to the east. The formation produces natural gas, condensate, oil, and natural gas liquids, with margins more favorable than other shale plays.   In its most recent study, released this week, UTSA forecasted that development of oil and natural gas in the Eagle Ford Shale added more than $61 billion in total economic impact across a 20-county region in Central and South Texas during 2012. Additionally, it supported 116,000 jobs. In 2011, UTSA reported the region generated $25 billion in economic impact and supported 117,000 jobs. The study projects that the region will support 127,000 jobs and produce an economic impact of $89 billion for Texas in 2022.   This month’s study is the fifth examining the Eagle Ford Shale over the past year alone, making UTSA the leading source of information about the growth and impact of the South Texas region.   “The research conducted at UTSA provides us with valuable information, findings and recommendations related to the Eagle Ford Shale and its impact on Texas' economy," said Senator Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo. "This research is a wonderful resource not only for state policymakers and business leaders, but also for all stakeholders who are working to create sustainable communities throughout the shale region. Equally important, it underscores the critical role of the higher education community in public service and economic development."   The UTSA Institute for Economic Development is dedicated to creating jobs, growing businesses and fostering economic development. Its 12 centers and programs provide professional business advising, technical training, research and strategic planning for entrepreneurs, business owners and community leaders. Programs serve San Antonio and the Texas-Mexico border area as well as regional, national and international stakeholders. Together with federal, state and local governments, and private businesses, the IED fosters economic and community development in support of UTSA's community engagement mission. “One of the key indicators of a Tier One university is its contribution to society,” said UTSA President Ricardo Romo. “The Institute for Economic Development has taken a leading role in assessing the impact of the Eagle Ford Shale. Its work is another example of UTSA’s commitment to become a top tier research institution.”   In October 2012, the Institute published Eagle Ford Shale Impact for Counties with Active Drilling and its Workforce Analysis for the Eagle Ford Shale. The pair of studies examined economic indicators resulting from the Eagle Ford oil and gas play.   In July 2012, the Institute released its Strategic Housing Analysis, in partnership with the UTSA College of Architecture and UTSA Center for Urban and Regional Planning Research. The study addressed the region’s need for affordable housing to create sustainable communities in South Texas. It also advised communities to create permanent housing, mixed-use housing, and temporary, mobile and rental units.   “It is our hope that this research helps state and local officials make informed decisions as the economic growth of this region continues to expand,” said Bob McKinley, UTSA AVP for Economic Development. For more information about the Center, visit www.ccbr.iedtexas.org.

We knew it was coming, we just didn't know it would be this soon.

Pete Gallego, the Alpine-based Democrat whose sprawling congressional district extends from San Antonio to El Paso, didn't make it out of the supposed honeymoon phase of his freshman congressional term before drawing a 2014 challenger. Dr. Robert Lowry, a Fair Oaks Ranch physician, filed a “statement of candidacy” with the Federal Election Commission on March 7 for Gallego's District 23 seat. A gangly, slow-talking acolyte of Ron and Rand Paul, Lowry, 52, has fancied the District 23 seat for several years. In 2010, he ran a surprisingly strong race in the District 23 Republican primary, drawing more than 22 percent of the vote and finishing a solid third in a five-candidate field. When the two top finishers — former CIA agent Will Hurd and local attorney Francisco “Quico” Canseco (the eventual winner) — made it to a runoff, Lowry's endorsement was much-coveted, and he threw his support behind Hurd. Lowry also flirted with an intraparty challenge to Canseco last year, announcing his candidacy in January 2012, and changing his mind two months later. While the prospect of a Lowry candidacy surely won't make Gallego cower in fear, the doctor's filing looks like the first salvo in what should be a lively, high-stakes battle for the District 23 Republican nomination. How do we know it will be lively? Because District 23 is perpetually up for grabs. Neither party can claim more than a temporary hold on it, and neither party will ever go down without a nasty, well-funded fight. Simply put, San Antonio has two types of congressional representatives. Joaquín Castro and Lamar Smith have their seats for as long as they want them; Gallego, on the other hand, lives on the hot seat. Representing District 23 means an acceptance that the fickle finger of political fate can turn on you at any moment. It means that you best avoid signing a long-term lease in the Beltway. With that in mind, Gallego seems to be relishing Lowry's challenge and using it as a fundraising tool. On Saturday, Gallego broke the news in an email to his supporters (subject line: “I already have an opponent”), casting Lowry's entry into the race as a sign that “extremists are already threatened by the example we are setting.” Gallego urged supporters to “make a donation of $3, $15, $25 or more so that we can continue our work.” Lowry is a strict constitutional conservative who showed in 2010 that he appeals to tea party activists and the libertarian wing of the GOP, although he's probably too innately independent to attach himself completely to any movement. In 2010, then-U.S. Rep. (and libertarian darling) Ron Paul embraced Lowry's candidacy, with a from-one-doctor-to-another endorsement. Paul vouched for Lowry's small-government bona fides by calling him a “Ron Paul guy all the way” and dismissed Canseco (who served one congressional term before Gallego ousted him last November) as a “party parrot” and a “useful idiot.” Well, at least he gave him credit for being useful.