Drug War

Current conditions in the border region, including the influx of guns from the U.S. and elsewhere; the City of Juarez's hiring of former Tijuana Police Chief Julian Leyzaola, the effect of media coverage of the drug wars on Tijuana tourism and its economy and the upcoming visit of former Mexican President Vicente Fox to San Diego in April.

It's been a year of stunning headlines from the border. Beginning in January with the capture of "El Teo," the gang leader believed to be responsible for 300 murders followed by the discoveries of smugglers tunnels and seizure of hundreds of tons drugs; and the arrest of an alleged 14-year-old assassin born in San Diego. KPBS border reporter Amy Isackson recaps these stories and gives us a glimpse of how new leadership in Tijuana may impact life in the region in the year ahead.

At a community center high in the rough western hills of Juarez, Lupe sits on a worn love seat inside a small counseling room. Outside, a harsh wind splats desert sand against the window pane. Out of safety concerns, she doesn't want to be identified by her last name. Lupe agreed to meet at the center; she doesn't feel safe talking in her neighborhood, where her son was killed last summer.

US federal Authorities are trying out a new tactic in their hunt for subterranean drug smuggling tunnels near the border in San Diego. Authorities are going door-to-door to ask business owners to keep their heads up for underground activity.

A 14-year-old boy born in San Diego was arrested in Mexico this week. Authorities claim he killed at least four people on behalf of drug traffickers in Central Mexico. Other members of the teen's family have also been arrested including his mother, who was living in San Diego. KPBS Border Reporter Amy Isackson joins us with the latest details.

Laura Duffy, United States Attorney for the Southern District of California, sits down with Reporter Alison St. John for an in-depth interview about her goals for the region, her recent investigations of Mexican drug cartels, and Somali terror suspects in San Diego.

In an effort to get drugs off the streets, the Drug Enforcement Agency is seizing record numbers of marijuana plants on public lands in San Diego County.

The new US Attorney in town Laura Duffy takes on the job with some powerful and high-flying successes behind her. As a federal prosecutor, she worked relentlessly to cripple the infamous Arellano Felix drug cartel. And Laura Duffy is still taking aim at the remaining members of that drug gang.

"Secure Communities" is an immigration enforcement program which runs fingerprints obtained by local police through a national database. But across the country, questions about it remain.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, established Project Gunrunner in 2006 to stem the flow of illegal weapons from the U.S. to Mexico. But a recent review reveals significant weaknesses with the program.