LA FRONTERA

We could kill every Muslim radical and Mexican mafioso in the world and we would still confront the same problem on both fronts. There are thousands waiting to replace their leaders. A Catholic priest met his end when he found himself caught in a crossfire between members of the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel. The violence in the state of Tamaulipas is worse than Iraq and Afghanistan.

In defense of the fanatics in the Middle East, they decapitate their victims for religious reasons. Allah Akbar! In Tamaulipas the drug lords cut off heads to satisfy their sadistic urges. These are territorial wars in Mexico. The Zetas and Gulf Cartel are battling for control of Matamoros. From the sketchy news reports, the Gulf Cartel apparently runs Matamoros and every month the Zetas launch an offensive and scores die.

Remembering imprisoned Sheriff Conrado Cantu escorting drug loads north in his squad car, how many Zeta and Gulf Cartel killers are residing in Brownsville neighborhoods? A bigger question bears asking: Who controls Brownsville? The Zetas? The Gulf Cartel? Who controls McAllen? Who controls Laredo? Who controls El Paso? The bloodletting in Matamoros, Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo and Ciudad Juarez has to spill across the border.

We are dealing with butchers who will stop at nothing, particularly with their millions at stake. I fear that one of these days a shootout will take place in an upscale Brownsville restaurant between these animals. It won't be a priest who dies. It will be one of our children. We can't wish this tragic reality away. Judgment Day is coming.