Professor Sheds Light On El Pasoans Who May Work For Mexican Cartel

El Paso. Known to some as a great place to raise a family and for its great Mexican food. It's also known as one of the safest cities in the country.

But just a few yards away is Ciudad Juarez. Where violence is rampant and where drug cartels are at a bloody war that has claimed thousands of lives.

Some law enforcement authorities in El Paso have been insisting that violence from Juarez doesn't spill over, but some people think otherwise.

“Our leadership is very much a hear no evil, see no evil speak no evil kind of leadership that would rather deny that we have co-responsibility," said Dr. Tony Payan, an associate political science professor at the University of Texas at El Paso.

While you may not see many of the actual murders here in El Paso the there have been some instances that suggest people who live in El Paso could be connected to Mexican cartels.

About a week an a half ago, El Paso county sheriff's deputies say 30-year-old Sergio Saucedo was kidnapped from his Horizon city home and later found dead in Juarez. He was found with his hands cut off, plastic bags stuffed in his mouth and tape over his eyes. A sign was also left on his bod and Mexican authorities said cartels often leave signs Authorities have not said that Saucedo was in the cartel.

"We know that El Paso is a staging area for drug trafficking, we know that drugs cross into El Paso," said Payan.

Last week, the Mexican army arrested an El Paso man, 29-year-old Michael Escalante, an accused hit man for La Linea crime organization.

And in May, a Juarez cartel lieutenant and U.S. Customs and immigration Enforcement informant was shot eight times in front of his east El Paso home.

"In fact, it is entirely possible that the Juarez cartel recruit American citizens because they are precisely the kind of people that have the greatest mobility, that can come and go at freedom," Payan said.

KFOX 14 reporter Miri Marshall made several calls to law enforcement agencies like the FBI, El Paso Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration but could not get an interview with them. She also called several private investigators around town who said they could not talk, because they could be killed for what they said. They only warned that it is only a matter of time before the violence grows.

"We should not deceive ourselves in thinking we have nothing to do with the violence."