Mexican military crosses border, hold BP agent at gunpoint


Published/Last Modified on Thursday, October 23, 2008 4:50 PM MDT


A U.S. Border Patrol agent was held at gunpoint last weekend by members of the Mexican military who had crossed the border into Arizona, but the soldiers returned to Mexico without incident when backup agents responded to assist.


 Agents assigned to the Border Patrol station at Ajo, Ariz., said the Mexican soldiers crossed the international border in an isolated area about 100 miles southwest of Tucson and pointed rifles at the agent, who was not identified.

 It was unclear what the soldiers were doing in the United States, but U.S. law enforcement authorities have long said that current and former Mexican military personnel have been hired to protect drug and migrant smugglers.

 “Unfortunately, this sort of behavior by Mexican military personnel has been going on for years,” union Local 2544 of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) said on its Web page. “They are never held accountable, and the United States government will undoubtedly brush this off as another case of ‘Oh well, they didn’t know they were in the United States.’

 “It is fortunate that this incident didn’t end in a very ugly gunfight,” said the local’s posting.

 The NBPC represents all nonsupervisory personnel among the agency’s 16,000 agents.

 Border Patrol spokesman Michael Friel did not return calls for comment Tuesday.

 State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson said Tuesday that the department had no information on the incident, and referred further questions to the Border Patrol. “It is not an incident that we are aware of,” she said.

Copyright © 2012 Douglas Dispatch

Comments

    Please.............. wrote on Oct 24, 2008 12:15 PM:

    " Oh God forbid that this had happened on Mexican soil! There would have been an uproar and the Mexican government would have been up in arms about this. Could the Mexican military not distinguish that the agent was in uniform and not a regular civilian?? The brazen behavior of the Mexican govt. needs to be halted, especially on our soil. "

    It would help wrote on Oct 23, 2008 6:02 PM:

    " It would help if this newspaper started using calendar dates rather than or along with "Last weekend" or last tuesday. "

    Just Wondering wrote on Oct 23, 2008 5:58 PM:

    " Is this encounter that one that happened in August?

    If so the head of the BP in Washington has already announced that the Mexican Army knew exactly where they were because they had to pass vehicle barriers.

    If this is new, it needs to go nationwide and makes twice in sixty days. "

Write a Comment

Comment posters are responsible for the opinions they express and the accuracy of the information they provide. We urge comment writers to treat this as a public forum where manners matter. We encourage a collegial, non-insulting tone. All readers comments must be approved by our staff before posting to the Web site. They review submitted comments periodically during the day for offensive or off-topic content before posting. Be aware, in accordance with the Communications Decency Act and provisions upheld in judicial appeal, that you are responsible for comments posted on this Web site. The Douglas Dispatch is not liable for messages from third parties.

DO NOT POST:
* Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults or threats.
* The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.
* Comments unrelated to the story.
* Personal Information (phone numbers, addresses, etc.)

Opinions, advice and all other information expressed in douglasdispatch.com's reader comments represent the individual's own views and not necessarily those of the Douglas Dispatch. The Douglas Dispatch does not endorse and is not responsible for statements, advice or opinions offered by anyone other than authorized Douglas Dispatch spokespersons.

Your thoughtful contribution to the online discussion is appreciated.

(optional)
   









Contact Us

Email the Editor
530 11th Street (85607)
P.O. Drawer H
Douglas, AZ 85608
tel: 520.364.3424
fax: 520.364.6750