Replacing Americans

In August 2008, a Mexican military contingent held at gunpoint a U.S. Border Patrol agent. The incident occurred well inside the U.S. border, about 100 miles southwest of Tucson. The Mexican soldier eventually released the agent and returned to Mexico. Shortly after the standoff, union Local 2544 of the National Border Patrol Council posted the following statement on their website: "Unfortunately, this sort of behavior by Mexican military personnel has been going on for years. 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.' In January 2008, the Department of Homeland Security reported that since 1996, there had been 278 known incursions by the Mexican military into the United States. They are often seen providing armed escort to drug smugglers. Incredibly, the Mexican military now enters our nation at will, with no response from the U.S. government. Last year, active-duty members of the Mexican military went much farther than simply escorting smugglers across our border. They broke into a home in Phoenix firing more than 100 rounds, resulting in the death of the homeowner. In the early morning hours of June 22, 2008 six men wearing helmets, body armor, and Phoenix Police raid shirts and armed with AR-15’s broke into the home at 8329 W. Cypress St. and shot and killed the resident, Mr. Andrew Williams. Phoenix police arrested three of the men, while the other three are still on the run. The three arrested and charged with first-degree murder are Manual Garcia-Trejo, Daniel Garcia-Saenz, and Rodolfo Madrigal Lopez, all are Mexican nationals. One police report, which describes the crime reads: "Information from one of the suspects on McDowell indicated all the suspects are Mexican military coming into the United States with full tactical gear and police raid shirts to conduct home invasions. According to the same suspect, they were planning on ambushing the officers following them but didn’t only because they didn’t have any ammunition left.” That was the first known Mexican military or paramilitary raid carried-out in the interior of the United States. Until then, this type of activity has been confined to the border areas. For some time it has been common knowledge among law enforcement that units of the Mexican military operate independently of Mexico City, and act as paid mercenaries and escorts on behalf of the Mexican drug cartels. In early 2006, a typical example of these disturbing incidents took place along the Texas-Mexico border. On January 23, Hudspeth County deputy sheriffs came upon a gang of drug smugglers operating alongside a Mexican military unit. When confronted by the deputies, the Mexican soldiers retreated to their Humvee and "took up a defensive position," said Sheriff Arvin West. The smugglers headed back across the river into Mexico. As one of their trucks became stuck in the water, the group unloaded the drugs and placed them into another vehicle. While this took place, the Mexican soldiers kept their rifles trained on the deputies. The truck still partially submerged, was then set ablaze. Of course the Mexican government denied that any members of the military were involved in the affair. The U.S. State Department promised to conduct an investigation into the matter, the results of which have never been reported. Shortly after that incident, a Border Patrol agent speaking on the condition of anonymity told the Inland Valley Bulletin: "We've had armed showdowns with the Mexican Army. These aren't just ex-military guys. These are Mexican army officials assisting drug smugglers." In 2006, Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol David Aguilar testified before a Congressional Subcommittee that a run-in with the Mexican military "isn't a new phenomenon." He went on to say that U.S. Border Patrol agents often pursue and detain Mexican soldiers. Also in 2006, the Department of Homeland Security released a document on the matter of Mexican military incursions into the U.S. which listed the following number of incidents within several Border Patrol sectors: -San Diego County...17 -El Centro...58 -Tucson, AZ...39 -Yuma, AZ...24 -Del Rio, TX...3 -Marfa, TX...8 -El Paso, TX...33 -Rio Grande Valley, TX...28 Upon reviewing those troubling statistics, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO) said: “It's a military problem. We should commit the military to the border tomorrow. I mean with armor and weapons." Of course, President Bush announced in 2006 that he was sending National Guard units to the Mexican border to assist with border enforcement. However, before issuing the order, he placed a phone call to then Mexican President Vicente Fox, to reassure him that he was not “militarizing the border.” Bush made good on his promise to Fox with the apparent hamstrung rules of engagement under which the Guardsmen were operating. On January 3, 2007, an armed paramilitary group of six to eight men, crossed the border into the United States and over-ran a National Guard post located near Sasabe, AZ. The Guardsmen from Tennessee quickly packed up their equipment, jumped into their truck, and fled the scene. That sorry action by the Guardsmen clearly demonstrated what our president instructed them to do...NOTHING! Tennessee National Guard spokesman Randy Harris told the Associated Press: "The soldiers did exactly what their mission was, to pull back if they're approached by armed personnel coming across the border." In an award ceremony which was closed to the press, the Tennessee National Guardsmen involved were presented with achievement medals for their actions described their spokesman as a “tactical retreat.”