Fox News Interview - Transcript

Interview

Fox News Interview - Transcript

FOX NEWS CHANNEL INTERVIEW WITH REP. HAL ROGERS (R-KY)
SUBJECT: MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS INTERVIEWER: TRACE GALLAGHER

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MR. GALLAGHER: Concerns about Mexico's drug cartels raised at a hearing on Capitol Hill. Kentucky Congressman Hal Rogers saying we need to pay more attention to a growing problem on our southern border. Listen.

REP. ROGERS: I think we're conveniently hiding our head in the sands of Cancun beach and we're not seeing what the real problem is and it's a real problem for the United States of America.

MR. GALLAGHER: Congressman Hal Rogers is the Ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee for Appropriations. He joins us now.

Congressman, thank you. You know, we talk about this problem as a Mexico problem. The United States is not helping. We're buying all the drugs and we're sending them all the weapons.

REP. ROGERS: Well, that's true. We're buying roughly $25 (billion) to $50 billion worth of drugs every year from the cartels, the four cartels in Mexico and they are smuggling across the border lots and lots of weapons with which they terrorize each other, the government of Mexico and local officials and our Border Patrol.

MR. GALLAGHER: You know, Congressman, we talk about the war on drugs. The war on drugs is now pushing 40 years old, clearly, it has not worked. We're talking about you said right there, $25 (billion) to $50 billion. The number we've gotten is $39 billion in drugs that we buy from Mexico. We, as Americans, buy $32 billion a year in pizza. We're buying more drugs than we buy pizza.

How do we stop this?

REP. ROGERS: Well, you've got the magic question. We've not been able to stop the desire for drugs in the U.S. all these years. I don't have the answer to that. What I am worried about though is the power and viciousness and maliciousness of the four drug cartels battling each other for territory in Mexico and for access to the U.S. market and corrupting the government, the local and state along the way.

I want to congratulate, though, President Calderon and the administration. They are going above and beyond the call of duty to try to stop this sinister problem in their country and spilling over into the U.S.

Now, I'm concerned that the U.S. is not doing two things, one, we're not taking seriously the so-called spillover violence effect from the drug cartels in Mexico because we've just arrested 750, two weeks ago, 750 drug cartel-related agents in American cities, all over the country. So it is spilling over. And secondly, I don't think our government is taking seriously the threat to the legitimacy of the Mexican government. They've just sent one-fourth of all their army troops to the U.S. border, the Mexican army troops.

So it is a serious problem for us and for them.

MR. GALLAGHER: Congressman Hal Rogers, Congressman, thank you.

REP. ROGERS: Thank you.

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