By Dr. Ray Kessler, who is, incidentally, a retired Prof. of Criminal Justice, former defense attorney and prosecutor is your host. I am also a part-time instructor in Criminal Justice at Richland College, an outstanding, 2-year institution in Dallas, TX.
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Thursday, June 17, 2010
Death of Mexican teen heightens tension on border
Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse on the border! Latest news on the situation. Rumors are that Mexico will ask that the agent be tried IN MEXICO. If they do, it will be a sticky situation. Link
There is another recent incident that has not received much attention. http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/6666879/detail.html. Whether this is the Mexican Army or drug runners costumed as soldiers, this is worrisome.
One of these days there may actually be some good news coming out of Mexico and the border. Another reason not to visit Mexico. I wish I had some reason to feel optimistic, but I don't know how Mexico is going to beat the cartels. The Army is as much part of the problem as it is part of the solution. The Army is vulnerable to corruption like any other government agency. Some of my friends who visit Ojinaga and Chihuahua City regularly say that people no longer go out after dark. Restaurants and clubs there are dying. I hope I'm wrong, but it looks to me like Mexico is a basket case. I suspect that the government will eventually reach an undercover deal with the cartels in an effort to restore order. Perhaps the government will divide up the territory among the cartels and give them carte blanche to smuggle drugs into the U.S.
The area where the shooting of the teenage smuggler took place in El Paso is known as the West Railroad Bridge. I was assigned to the El Paso Border Patrol Station as an agent from 1971 - 1978 and worked many a shift trying to hold back the flood of illegal aliens that wanted to enter the United States via this bridge. The railroad bridges were very dangerous places to work. If an agent got too close to the bridge or was caught down in the concrete river channel trying to arrest an illegal entrant, the folks on the Mexican side would send a hail of rocks and anything else they could throw at the agent. Sometimes a group of aliens would try to bull rush an agent making an apprehension in the river channel and attempt to free their compatriot. Over the years many agents were injured by the projectiles that orginated on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande and landed on the U. S. side. We had numerous windshields smashed or knocked out of our patrol units by rocks thrown from the Mexican side of the river.
On November 30, 1974, Agent Oscar Torres was killed while working the West Railroad Bridge. Oscar had gone on to the bridge to close a gate after some railroad cars had been delivered to the U. S. via the bridge. It was never determined whether Oscar tripped or was shoved from the bridge. Oscar suffered massive head injuries when he landed on concrete channel below the bridge.
I hope the agent involved in shooting is fully supported by CBP and our government in D. C. He certainly had good reason to fear for his life at the time of the shooting. However, after seeing how the President of Mexico was allowed to bash the United States from the floors of congress while on his official visit to the U. S., I fear our current administration may decide to sacrifice the agent in an attempt to appease Mexico.
I really hope that the government and the agency back up the agent completely. But I'm afraid that things are going to get worse. Now the Mexican government is using our own court system to fight the Arizona law: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/06/23/2010-06-23_mexico_asks_federal_court_to_reject_gov_jan_brewers_arizona_immigration_law_ctie.html
Many Americans in the interior generally have little or no contact with the Border Patrol. Even in border states, probably the most frequent form of contact is at a highway checkpoint. People may not realize that there are dangerous and stressful situations faced by BP agents. Thanks to Anthony Kieffer for adding more perspective to these issues.
There is another recent incident that has not received much attention. http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/6666879/detail.html. Whether this is the Mexican Army or drug runners costumed as soldiers, this is worrisome.
ReplyDeleteOne of these days there may actually be some good news coming out of Mexico and the border. Another reason not to visit Mexico. I wish I had some reason to feel optimistic, but I don't know how Mexico is going to beat the cartels. The Army is as much part of the problem as it is part of the solution. The Army is vulnerable to corruption like any other government agency. Some of my friends who visit Ojinaga and Chihuahua City regularly say that people no longer go out after dark. Restaurants and clubs there are dying. I hope I'm wrong, but it looks to me like Mexico is a basket case. I suspect that the government will eventually reach an undercover deal with the cartels in an effort to restore order. Perhaps the government will divide up the territory among the cartels and give them carte blanche to smuggle drugs into the U.S.
ReplyDeleteThe area where the shooting of the teenage smuggler took place in El Paso is known as the West Railroad Bridge. I was assigned to the El Paso Border Patrol Station as an agent from 1971 - 1978 and worked many a shift trying to hold back the flood of illegal aliens that wanted to enter the United States via this bridge. The railroad bridges were very dangerous places to work. If an agent got too close to the bridge or was caught down in the concrete river channel trying to arrest an illegal entrant, the folks on the Mexican side would send a hail of rocks and anything else they could throw at the agent. Sometimes a group of aliens would try to bull rush an agent making an apprehension in the river channel and attempt to free their compatriot. Over the years many agents were injured by the projectiles that orginated on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande and landed on the U. S. side. We had numerous windshields smashed or knocked out of our patrol units by rocks thrown from the Mexican side of the river.
ReplyDeleteOn November 30, 1974, Agent Oscar Torres was killed while working the West Railroad Bridge. Oscar had gone on to the bridge to close a gate after some railroad cars had been delivered to the U. S. via the bridge. It was never determined whether Oscar tripped or was shoved from the bridge. Oscar suffered massive head injuries when he landed on concrete channel below the bridge.
I hope the agent involved in shooting is fully supported by CBP and our government in D. C. He certainly had good reason to fear for his life at the time of the shooting. However, after seeing how the President of Mexico was allowed to bash the United States from the floors of congress while on his official visit to the U. S., I fear our current administration may decide to sacrifice the agent in an attempt to appease Mexico.
I really hope that the government and the agency back up the agent completely. But I'm afraid that things are going to get worse. Now the Mexican government is using our own court system to fight the Arizona law: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/06/23/2010-06-23_mexico_asks_federal_court_to_reject_gov_jan_brewers_arizona_immigration_law_ctie.html
ReplyDeleteMany Americans in the interior generally have little or no contact with the Border Patrol. Even in border states, probably the most frequent form of contact is at a highway checkpoint. People may not realize that there are dangerous and stressful situations faced by BP agents. Thanks to Anthony Kieffer for adding more perspective to these issues.
ReplyDelete