Jose don't surf. Burn his hooch, and take the beach.
Posted on 06/11/2011 7:59:56 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
Federal, state agents unleashed barrage at Mexican smugglers.
WESLACO — Answering a smattering of gunshots with a 300-round barrage should show drug runners, their inflatable rafts full of contraband, that Texas law enforcement officers aren't messing around, authorities said Friday.
“You shoot a police officer, you're going to be shot back at,” Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said, dismissing any notion that the U.S. response to an early morning shooting Thursday by Mexican drug runners on the Rio Grande was over the top.
An initial DPS news release said the U.S. officials came under “heavy gunfire.”
At a news conference, McCraw said the drug runners first threw rocks at U.S. law enforcement officers, followed by four to six gunshots.
He said a single shot against a U.S. law enforcement officer is “one too many.”
“We are going to use overwhelming force. ... You shoot a law enforcement officer, you're going to get return fire,” he said.
At least three alleged Gulf Cartel operatives were wounded in the Thursday morning shootout and McCraw said it was possible one or more of the drug runners died.
He said Mexico was investigating on its end, with officials on the U.S. side considering the incident “an attempted capital murder of both Texas police officers and Border Patrol agents.”
McCraw, leading a news conference attended by dozens of high-level state and federal law enforcement officials, praised the officers' response. He said Texas has a “zero tolerance” policy regarding attacks against U.S. law enforcement.
The bad guys fired first, McCraw said, recounting an incident that began at 6:18 a.m. Thursday, when three Texas Parks and Wildlife boats and one Border Patrol boat approached a red Dodge Durango waiting on U.S. riverbank near Mission.
Officers then saw the raft full of drugs, he said. As they approached the raft, large, jagged rocks flew from the Mexican side of the river, wounding two game wardens. The rocks were followed by four to six gunshots.
Texas Rangers, state game wardens and U.S. Border Patrol agents, operating a unified “Ranger Reconnaissance” mission, fired back big time, spraying some 300 rounds.
“They encountered force, and we will appropriately respond to that force, and we will go home at the end of the day, and we will protect ourselves, and we will protect our citizens,” Parks and Wildlife Col. Peter Flores said. “That's not negotiable.”
Mexican military, arriving some three hours after the exchange, seized the inflatable raft with its load of about 400 pounds of marijuana. No arrests were made.
Gov. Rick Perry touts the Ranger Recon missions as adding state resources to federal ones along the Texas-Mexico border.
McCraw said it was the first time state law enforcement had taken fire on the river, though not Border Patrol, members of which were shot at as recently as September.
He said the attack showed the increasing brazenness of the cartels, which routinely conduct sophisticated “splash down” smuggling operations involving retrieval teams, blocking vehicles, road spikes and safe havens on the Mexican side.
McCraw said there had been at least 44 high-speed chases over the past 18 months, most ending with the drug runners splashing back to safety on the other side.
Interdiction of two similar rafts Wednesday netted U.S. officials 1,200 pounds of drugs.
“They will not comply, they can't be arrested, they really scoff at what we do,” McCraw said. “They're out-manning us.”
Install a 10 mi free fire zone SOUTH of the US border.
The Mexicans can always move to Spain.
And why, exactly, would Texas Rangers have to defend firing at ILLEGALS who are firing at them?
You go, Texas.
“At least three alleged Gulf Cartel operatives were wounded ..”
300 rounds returned?
these guys need more range time, lots more
Why should we have to “defend” the fact that we defended ourselves against gunfire coming from across the border?
I don’t mind the shooting, but am I the only one who finds this weak?:
“As they approached the raft, large, jagged rocks flew from the Mexican side of the river, wounding two game wardens.”
Unless the river is about 2 feet wide, no one is going to throw a rock that will ‘wound’ you...unless David is in Mexico, practicing for his upcoming match against Goliath.
Because if they don’t defend themselves they could be brought up on charges, demoted, andl/or fired!
If they didn’t get every last one of the invaders or the abettors, then 300 rounds were not enough.
In my other dimension, if they throw even a cotton ball at an officer while in commission of a crime, they are a priori guilty of Contempt of Cop and may be shot on sight.
Since the Mexican Gon refuses to do anything it is clear that either they are accepting money from the cartels or they just don’t care. We are at war with these people and any response that includes returning gunfire by our border patrol is appropriate. I just wish they would open fire the moment these scumbags enter US territory whether on water or land. God Bless our border agents and their families.
Mine the border on the mex side.
King Obama must have filled his pants. Go Texas, you don’t need Washington now. For that matter you don’t need America unless this Country gets off it’s butt and kicks this dictator and all the RAT’s the hell out of Washington. That includes RINO’s.
Mexicans didn’t come from spain!
They are the halfbreed ofspring from spaniards screwing indians!
Alpha: requesting fire mission...
Foxtrot: Fire mission, go ahead Alpha
Alpha: Unfriendlies in the open, grid 936415...fire one round HE, over.
Foxtrot: One round HE grid 936415 over.
Foxtrot: One round over.
Foxtrot: Splash
Alpha: Adjust fire....East 50 South 100, 10 rounds for effect.
Foxtrot: Rounds complete, over
Alpha: On target, out.
Okay, then send that half back.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.