MCALLEN – Members of five different Mexican law enforcement agencies are in McAllen learning from U.S. law enforcement.

The goal is to create a more unified effort in securing the border.

The first of its kind get together in McAllen includes law enforcement of all levels of government from both sides of the Rio Grande River.

Border security is the priority.

Mexican law enforcement will learn about auto theft investigations, visa and passport fraud, crime scene evidence collection and tactical training.

The trainers hope to learn from the trainees as well.

“The folks on the southern side of the border deal with violence a lot more than our officers and our agents up here in the United States, and their experiences are of great value to learn what things they deal with and understand their environment,” John Cata, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Austin resident agency said.

The three-day training is just as much about forming relationships as it is about learning tactics to fight border crimes.

“That leads to information sharing, intelligence sharing and certainly working together in an unprecedented level that certainly wasn't there before,” Nelson Balido, advisor to the Tamaulipas governor said.

Mexico is trying all sorts of new tactics to curb violence from cartels and gangs, including new prosecution methods and new law enforcement operations.

Support from the U.S. gives Mexican authorities hope that cities like Reynosa can one day be safe.

“That day has to come. That's why we are working 24 hours a day. We need to beat them with intense work and coordination of forces,” Adan Sala, Reynosa Public Safety Director said.

Stopping drugs and criminals from crossing the border from Mexico is in the best interest of both countries.

The U.S. State Department, FBI, Border Patrol, DPS, the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office and McAllen police are hosting that training for their counterparts in Tamaulipas.