Document says Mexican soldiers crossing border into United States
Sara A. Carter
Staff Writer
DailyNews.com
01-15-16
www.dailynews.com/news/ci_3403937
The Mexican military has crossed into the United States 216 times in the past nine years, according to a Department of Homeland Security document and a map of incursions obtained by the Daily Bulletin.
U.S. officials claim the incursions are made to help foreign drug and human smugglers into the United States. The 2001 map, which shows 34 of the incursions, bears the seal of the president's Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The document states that since 1996, Mexican military personnel have crossed into the following sectors:

San Diego County, 17 times

El Centro, Calif., 58

Yuma, Ariz., 24

Tucson, Ariz., 39

El Paso, Texas, 33

Marfa, Texas, eight

Del Rio, Texas, three

Laredo, Texas, six

Rio Grande Valley, Texas, 28.

White House officials would not comment on the map and referred questions to officials at the Department of Homeland Security.

Kristi Clemons, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, would not confirm the number of incursions, but said Saturday the department is in ongoing discussion with the Mexican government about them.

"We - the Department of Homeland Security and the CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) - are determined to gain control of the border and will continue to collaborate with our partners on the border," Clemons said.

Border Patrol agents say they for several years have reported sightings and confrontations with Mexican military inside the United States, which the Daily Bulletin documented last year in its Beyond Borders series about immigration.

"We've had armed showdowns with the Mexican army," said a border agent who spoke on condition of anonymity. "These aren't just ex-military guys. These are Mexican army officials assisting drug smugglers."

In one 2000 incident, more than 16 Mexican soldiers were arrested by border agents in a small town west of El Paso, in Santa Teresa, N.M., after Mexican soldiers fired on the agents, said T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council.

None of the agents was injured in the gunbattle, and U.S. State Department officials forced the border agents to release the soldiers and return them to Mexico with their weapons, Bonner added.

"If (Mexico) is going to put military across our border to threaten our guys, and if their own government can't control it, then we should be treating this as an act of war," he said.

Mexican government officials said they have neither seen the report nor map and dispute the findings, stating that at no time in recent years have military personnel crossed the border into the United States.

"I strongly deny any incursion by the Mexican military on United States soil," said Rafael Laveaga, spokesman for the Mexican Embassy in Washington, D.C.

"When it comes to Mexican military on the southern side, I have no reports of them crossing into the United States. That would mean that the patrol got lost or lack of expertise and orientation. This could be smugglers with fake uniforms as a tactic to confuse the authorities."

Laveaga added that Mexico's law enforcement agencies work closely with the FBI, Office of National Drug Control Policy and other U.S. agencies to assist in the capture of drug cartel members.

Further, Laveaga contended that wealthy smugglers can afford fake uniforms and camouflage their vehicles to resemble those of the military.

"Some incursions do occur by smugglers both on the northbound and southbound sides of the border," Laveaga said. "Whenever these incidents occur, both governments have a mechanism to communicate with each other to let each other know what's going on."

In the Tucson sector - where many border agents reported run-ins with Mexican military - the U.S. Department of Customs and Border Protection formally issued a card to agents with tips on how to deal with incursions by Mexican soldiers. The Daily Bulletin first reported on the card last year.

The "Military Incursion" card states that "Mexican military are trained to escape, evade and counter-ambush if it will effect their escape."

Further, the card asks agents who come across Mexican soldiers to keep a low profile and use shadows to camouflage and hide.

Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., said the numbers show that suggestions for increasing Border Patrol resources or building a fence along the border won't do enough to secure it.

"It is a military problem," said Tancredo, who supports immigration reform. "We should commit the military to the border - tomorrow. I mean, with armor and weapons."

Speaking by phone from El Paso, the congressman recalled his own confusion and disbelief when Border Patrol officials first told him of the incursions several years ago.

But the more time he spent at the border, the more he realized how serious the problem is, Tancredo said.

"Down here, there are war stories where you have Mexican military pulling up when drug traffickers are coming across, cocking their weapons, challenging our guys," he said "Shots have been fired. ... This is a problem here. I don't think anybody understands it unless they're here."

Lt. George Moreno, who has been with the Imperial County Sheriff's Department for 20 years, said he was surprised to hear about the 22 Mexican incursions reported during 2002 in the El Centro sector, just east of San Diego.

"I've heard rumors that it's been happening," Moreno said. "A lot of these types of incidents are dealt with at a federal level. It's not brought down to our level unless it really concerns us."

Border Patrol agents also are the target of the international Mara Salvatrucha street gang, whose members Mexican smugglers plan to bring across the border and pay to kill U.S. agents, according to a confidential Homeland Security alert obtained by the Daily Bulletin last week.

Jim Gilchrist, co-founder of the Minuteman Project, a civilian volunteer group that has monitored the border since April, said Congress must address the serious nature of the military incursions.

"That number is 20 times larger than even the Minuteman Project organizers are aware of," Gilchrist said, referring to the 216 documented incursions. "But I'm not surprised at that number. There are significant drug and human cargo cartels involving Mexican military threatening Americans at the border. But our Congress has turned a blind eye to it because what the American people don't know won't bother them - that's how our representatives think."

Unacceptable. As I stated before, DC is reactive and not proactive.
See avatar

tag

I wonder if it's legal to shoot the Mexican Army soldiers if they show up in your backyard. Hmm.

I just hope I am not overly dramatizing the issue of a foreign militarys incursion into our territory

Quoted: I wonder if it's legal to shoot the Mexican Army soldiers if they show up in your backyard. Hmm.

I'd say that technically, yes. However, the gov will still probably put you away for a long time.

ETA: Isn't it considered an invasion when another countries army starts shooting at our feds on the border as the cross over?

Not really too surprised. The Mexican goverment needs to be held accountable.

Quoted: "When it comes to Mexican military on the southern side, I have no reports of them crossing into the United States. That would mean that the patrol got lost or lack of expertise and orientation. This could be smugglers with fake uniforms as a tactic to confuse the authorities." Laveaga added that Mexico's law enforcement agencies work closely with the FBI, Office of National Drug Control Policy and other U.S. agencies to assist in the capture of drug cartel members. Further, Laveaga contended that wealthy smugglers can afford fake uniforms and camouflage their vehicles to resemble those of the military.

If the druggies were going to buy fake uniforms, wouldn't it make more sense to be buying US uniforms if they planned on operating  on US soil as a deception?

We've known this for over two years.

Quoted: "When it comes to Mexican military on the southern side, I have no reports of them crossing into the United States. That would mean that the patrol got lost or lack of expertise and orientation. This could be smugglers with fake uniforms as a tactic to confuse the authorities." Laveaga added that Mexico's law enforcement agencies work closely with the FBI, Office of National Drug Control Policy and other U.S. agencies to assist in the capture of drug cartel members. Further, Laveaga contended that wealthy smugglers can afford fake uniforms and camouflage their vehicles to resemble those of the military. If the druggies were going to buy fake uniforms, wouldn't it make more sense to be buying US uniforms if they planned on operating  on US soil as a deception?

You, I and a teenager on the street would probably be able to tell they weren't American Soldiers

BP needs to man up, shoot some invading Mexican soldiers dead then notify the media that they repelled a foreign military invasion before the .Gov has time to cover it up.

The Mexican Army routinely crosses the US border to assist drug cartels?

I am shocked. Simply shocked, I say.

Quoted: You, I and a teenager on the street would probably be able to tell they weren't American Soldiers

Maybe so, but the US Army is hardly lilly white these days, either.

Quoted: BP needs to man up, shoot some invading Mexican soldiers dead then notify the media that they repelled a foreign military invasion before the .Gov has time to cover it up.

The land owners in the area could probably do that with a couple of scoped rifles(on their property)

Quoted: Quoted: You, I and a teenager on the street would probably be able to tell they weren't American Soldiers Maybe so, but the US Army is hardly lilly white these days, either.

Do they have many blacks and caucasians in the mexican army?
(we have a mix of nationalities, they don't.....at least I don't think they do)

Quoted: The Mexican Army routinely crosses the US border to assist drug cartels? I am shocked. Simply shocked, I say.

+1

Just shoot them. Then there will be proof enough.

I was going to ask a question about ghillie suits, suppressed rifles and their effective range,
but I changed my mind.

they're comig for the free college money...

Quoted: Quoted: "When it comes to Mexican military on the southern side, I have no reports of them crossing into the United States. That would mean that the patrol got lost or lack of expertise and orientation. This could be smugglers with fake uniforms as a tactic to confuse the authorities." Laveaga added that Mexico's law enforcement agencies work closely with the FBI, Office of National Drug Control Policy and other U.S. agencies to assist in the capture of drug cartel members. Further, Laveaga contended that wealthy smugglers can afford fake uniforms and camouflage their vehicles to resemble those of the military. If the druggies were going to buy fake uniforms, wouldn't it make more sense to be buying US uniforms if they planned on operating  on US soil as a deception?

The irony is that if they were dressed in U.S. uniforms, BP would arrest them for being AWOL.

Quoted: Do they have many blacks and caucasians in the mexican army? (we have a mix of nationalities, they don't.....at least I don't think they do)

A small squad level unit can be quite homogeneous in appearance in the US Army, even with a racially integrated force. Obviously if you are talking Company level and above you'll see a wider ethnic range.

Quoted: Quoted: Do they have many blacks and caucasians in the mexican army? (we have a mix of nationalities, they don't.....at least I don't think they do) A small squad level unit can be quite homogeneous in appearance in the US Army, even with a racially integrated force. Obviously if you are talking Company level and above you'll see a wider ethnic range.

I see what you are talking about, I was thinking more about the way they looked and carried themselves

There are probably MANY squads that are singular in racial characteristics

Tag. I'll be waiting for a follow up on how the US gov. plans to deal with this problem. Something tells me I'm going to be waiting for awhile.

This has been going on for years. Nothing was done then, nothing will be done now.

Here's food for thought:

If a US LEO accidently crosses into Mexico, his vehicle, weapons and gear are confiscated and he will eventually be returned.

When Mexican LEO'ds accidently enter the US, they are returned to Mexico with all their guns and gear within hours.

maybe some of them are working at Wal-Mart?

Quoted: maybe some of them are working at Wal-Mart?

They might find some of them hanging out in groups of 50-100 on streetcorners
or working in almost every damn restaurant in Houston(probably other cities too)

In the PRK cities have been mandated to build "hiring halls" for known illegal aliens.

Employers are also forced to provide them with housing if they are doing outside or field work.

I would like to see this on the O'Reilly factor. Are the next ARFCOM shoots in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico  anywhere near the border?

It is past time our government gets serious about protecting our borders.

I wonder what happened to these guys?

Anyone else ever hear about them?

www.google.com/search?q=minute+men&btnG=Google+Search&sitesearch=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.infowars.com

Like I was saying on a thread covering this topic just recently.

Unfortunatly there will have to be a significant upswing in violent crimes against american citizens on U.S. soil by these mexican and central american hoodulums before the feds start  DOING THE FUCKING JOB WE PAY THEM TO DO!!!!  

I don't think that anything short of Citizen revolt will have any effect

The people in power are good at dealing with complainers, they ignore them

or make a token effort to deal with the problem

Thats what they are doing now, passing legislation?

It is already against the law to do ALMOST EVERYTHING that illegals do

don't think so? give a cop a fake ID or tell him you have no Insurance or don't pay your taxes

More of the same:

Mexican Army helps smugglers