Newly-appointed Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano warned lawmakers Wednesday that the United States must take measures to prevent a wave of brutal violence related to Mexico's drug cartels from spilling over into the southern United States. “Mexico today has issues of violence at a level we have never seen before,” she told the House of Representatives' Homeland Security Committee. Napolitano said it would be one of the “top priority items” on her desk. Mexico's border states have been the scene of gruesome killings, torture, kidnappings and assassinations related to the powerful drug cartels that traffic narcotics across the border to the United States. Napolitano said she did not want to “militarize the border,” adding that options are currently being assessed. She said the recent uptick in violence is probably associated with the Mexican government's decision to confront drug cartels more directly, but added that there is a U.S. role to play in clamping down on the flow of arms and cash that return to Mexico after drugs are sold.
