Posted on 01/29/2006 6:53:25 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
Expect more violence as officers move into more areas along the border, said the national chief of CBP Border Patrol during a Saturday visit to Laredo.
Chief David Aguilar visited Laredo to address concerns raised by recent instances of violence against Border Patrol agents. He said assaults on agents in the Laredo sector are occurring at a record pace.
As more agents get assigned to the border, the Border Patrol is taking control of areas that have been historically used by criminal gangs who are reluctant to give them up, Aguilar said.
Danger to agents will continue to increase until those areas are secure, he said.
Border Patrol and other law enforcement encountered smugglers with military-style equipment Monday in Hudspeth County. Later in the week, customs officials discovered 2 tons of marijuana inside a tunnel running from a warehouse in Tijuana to one in San Diego.
Mexican and U.S. officials at the highest levels of government are dealing with the Hudspeth incident, Aguilar said.
In Laredo, the Border Patrol reported shootings across the river on Sunday and Thursday, but the agents involved were not certain if they were being shot at.
Last weeks incidents are still under investigation, but information will be forthcoming, Border Patrol officials said.
Aguilar said there were at least two assaults on agents in Laredo last week, and there have been 10 since the beginning of the fiscal year in October.
The Laredo sector saw only six assaults in all of fiscal year 2004, and there were 19 assaults in fiscal year 2005, he said.
It is thanks to Border Patrol and other local law enforcement that Laredo is still a safe place compared to Nuevo Laredo, Aguilar said.
"I want to clarify this because I think Laredo has gotten a black eye," he said.
But the trend of attacks on Border Patrol agents is happening across the entire border, he said.
"Violence is part of our everyday life," Aguilar said. "It is still unacceptable."
In the western region of the border, new terms are emerging for types of assault that agents havent seen before, such as "flaming rocks," Aguilar said. Flaming rocks are stones covered with burning cloth hurled at agents.
The violence can even be seen as a measure of success, Aguilar said, because it shows the Border Patrol is moving into more areas controlled by gangs.
Eventually, the gangs will give up when the areas have adequate officer resources, but until then it will be dangerous for law enforcement, Aguilar said.
When agents are faced with shooting at the border, they might shoot back if necessary, Aguilar said. There have been no changes in the agencys lethal force procedures.
"The safety of our officers is paramount," Aguilar said.
He noted that in one of the weeks assaults in Laredo, agents never fired a shot.
Although smugglers are using heavy military equipment, it should never get to the point where the Border Patrol has to take on similar equipment, Aguilar said.
"We know whats coming at us," he said.
The incident in Hudspeth County occurred at a well-known crossing point, Aguilar said.
He said Friday that he was unsure if the suspected smugglers were Mexican soldiers, as the Hudspeth County sheriff had claimed.
Regardless of how they were dressed, the men are criminals who wont be tolerated, Aguilar said.
Despite the danger, the Border Patrol nets huge amounts of drugs each year and makes many arrests, he said.
"Absolutely we are in much better shape than prior to Sept. 11," Aguilar said.
(Clay Reddick may be reached at 728-2582 or clay@lmtonline.com.)
How about "Mexican...officials at the highest levels of government PLANNED the Hudpeth incident..."
I think you have it backwards...the Guard can be deployed for stuff like this, that is why we have them. The active military cannot be deployed, for combat, on our soil.
Heavy emphasis on the "I think" part.
LVM
A much more probable scenario and, regretfully, probably much closer to the truth than we all know.
There is more media coverage of the problem now, weapons have increased (as elsewhere), and the rest of the people in this country have finally noticed. Not so much that it's not a problem, there's is just too much historical evidence that nothing will ever be done.
Watch for idealistic and seasoned terrorist volunteers from all over South America to come up to Mexico to nip at our southern flank.
Arms will be provided by well-heeled global enemies of ours. The artillery shells will start lobbing over and guerilla raids will commence. It will be the same kind of unconventional war where the enemy hits and evaporates.
All this has little to do with Mexico itself except as a staging area like Syria.
Think I'm nuts? Freepmail me in 6 months.
Leni
What I consider particularly loathseome is how Mexican military are described as "men WEARING Mexican military uniforms".
The whole thing stinks. There was one comment up this thread (or was it another about this same topic? I read more than one this AM) that many in S. Texas don't think this is a problem. I find that hard to believe. Other than the fact that many people are just extremely ill-informed and absorbed in their own little cocoons.
"Think I'm nuts?"
I don't think you're nuts. They already have an army on U.S. soil, millions of them. There are hundreds of thousands of military age Chinsese "immigrants" in the U.S. and Canada, do you think some of them may be connected to the Chinese army? The Mexican army troops in New Orleans are still there.
If you want your eyes opened and your pants scared off, read Congressman J. D. Hayworth's book "Whatever It Takes"
He tells it like it is.
That comment about the Mexican military being described as 'men WEARING Mexican military uniforms' made my blood boil, too.
Hey, thanks....I very definately think you are right, and I have it backwards.
No one is against LEGAL IMMIGRATION, no one! But this crap has to stop!
Most of the people in this part of the country know there is a problem but realize most of the illegals, as well as the drugs, are bound for "somewhere" else. It's not like this just began on 9-11.
While I have never liked the UN, here is a history of of drug trafficking in Mexico.
Bush will actually take credit for this. His goal is progressing for the "new America".
| We are now one of the largest Spanish-speaking nations in the world. We're a major source of Latin music, journalism and culture. Just go to Miami, or San Antonio, Los Angeles, Chicago or West New York, New Jersey ... and close your eyes and listen. You could just as easily be in Santo Domingo or Santiago, or San Miguel de Allende. For years our nation has debated this change -- some have praised it and others have resented it. By nominating me, my party has made a choice to welcome the new America. George Bush from a campaign speech in Miami, August 2000. |
Here is a good critique of that speech:
In equating our intimate historic bonds to our mother country and to Canada with our ties to Mexico, W. shows a staggering ignorance of the civilizational facts of life. The reason we are so close to Britain and Canada is that we share with them a common historical culture, language, literature, and legal system, as well as similar standards of behavior, expectations of public officials, and so on. My Bush Epiphany By Lawrence Auster
I see that happening only once or twice, if at all.
There will not be a "border" anymore, just another "state" line.
You really think the US would tolerate that?
LVM
Those who think it's not a problem are here illegally. Thus, they are PART of the problem. All one has to do is look at who the people are that are against tighter border control. They have a common thread among them, that being country of origin.
Leni
The response would be a bloody border. Military or not Americans would not put up with it. They would take the issue personal.
So, are USBP agents going to be given battle rifles, or will the Barney Fife policy continue?
--------------------------------------------
Border Patrol told to stand down in Arizona
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published May 13, 2005
U.S. Border Patrol agents have been ordered not to arrest illegal aliens along the section of the Arizona border where protesters patrolled last month because an increase in apprehensions there would prove the effectiveness of Minuteman volunteers, The Washington Times has learned.
More than a dozen agents, all of whom asked not to be identified for fear of retribution, said orders relayed by Border Patrol supervisors at the Naco, Ariz., station made it clear that arrests were "not to go up" along the 23-mile section of border that the volunteers monitored to protest illegal immigration.
"It was clear to everyone here what was being said and why," said one veteran agent. "The apprehensions were not to increase after the Minuteman volunteers left. It was as simple as that."
Another agent said the Naco supervisors "were clear in their intention" to keep new arrests to an "absolute minimum" to offset the effect of the Minuteman vigil, adding that patrols along the border have been severely limited. (continued)
source
http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20050513-122032-5055r
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