Mexico condemns Border Patrol shooting of teen

[pinboy3niner]

Source: AP




Mexico condemns Border Patrol shooting of teen
By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN and ALEXANDRA OLSON Associated Press Writers
Posted: 06/11/2010 04:38:43 AM MDT


EL PASO, Texas—Mexico condemned the shooting of a 15-year-old boy by a U.S. Border Patrol agent Thursday through diplomatic correspondence and an angry phone call to the Homeland Security secretary. Some Mexican politicians called for the agent's extradition to face Mexican justice.

Anger over Monday's shooting across a muddy riverbed on the international border was fueled by a cell-phone video that showed key moments in the shooting, as debate began over which country has jurisdiction in the case.

A still-unidentified Border Patrol agent trying to arrest illegal immigrants running into the United States fired his weapon from the U.S. side into Mexico, killing 15-year-old Sergio Adrian Hernandez Huereka while people on the Mexican side threw rocks at the Border Patrol agents on the scene.

What is still unclear is whether Hernandez was one of the rock-throwers and whether the agent or the victim crossed the international border. Shortly after the shooting, Mexican federal police chased Border Patrol agents out of the riverbed with rifles trained on them while a crowd on the Mexican side taunted the U.S. officials and threw rocks and firecrackers.



Read more: http://www.elpasotimes.com/texas/ci_15275823

[IndianaJoe]

1. Not good. n/t

[Rebubula]

2. Yet...

...better than 100 people every year from El Salvador, Guatamala and Honduras are killed by gangs and cops on the Southern Border of Mexico and no one bats an eye.

I am not saying that the killing of the kid this week is not bad...I am just tired of the Mexican government acting like they do not have any blood on their hands.

[montanto]

3. No excuse for our behavior.

Absolutely no correlation to how we should behave. None. Mexico is a third world country. Should we hold ourselves to those standards?

[Vilis Veritas]

7. Mexico is listed as Developing Nation.

No longer Third world with their newly industrialized economy. They are the 11th largest economy in the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico

[frylock]

5. try and keep up..

if these were americans being summarily executed by mexican authorities you might have a point. as it stands, you have no point at all.

[Travis Coates]

34. Because Americans are more equal than El Salvadorians? NT

[AlphaCentauri]

10. irrelevant in this case

any statistic of Mexican officials shooting across the Guatemalan border??

[defendandprotect]

4. knr

This is just more border violence to prove to idiotic people that

"The Mexicans are Coming!" and they are dangerous!!!

The danger for us all is in spreading violence by our own corrupt government!

[pinboy3niner]

6. + 100

This killing is focusing attention on what Mexican authorities say is an increasing number of Border Patrol incidents involving fatality or injury to Mexican civilians. They are already asking for joint efforts to review and coordinate border enforcement protocols.

The bigger problem is the agenda of racist, nativist groups like FAIR (The Federation for American Immigration Reform) and IRLI (Immigration Reform Law Institute), and the conservative pols who are promoting that agenda by spreading false information about border violence to inflame anti-immigrant sentiment and gin up support for a host of anti-immigrant legislative initiatives.

The main purpose behind all of this is to disenfranchise Democratic voters--as Greg Palast recently wrote in a great article at Truthout:


Behind the Arizona Immigration Law:
GOP Game to Swipe the November Election

Monday, April 26, 2010
by Greg Palast for Truthout.org

Don't be fooled. The way the media plays the story, it was a wave of racist, anti-immigrant hysteria that moved Arizona Republicans to pass a sick little law, signed last week, requiring every person in the state to carry papers proving they are US citizens.

I don't buy it. Anti-Hispanic hysteria has always been as much a part of Arizona as the Saguaro cactus and excessive air-conditioning.

What's new here is not the politicians' fear of a xenophobic "Teabag" uprising.
<snip>
What moved GOP Governor Jan Brewer to sign the Soviet-style show-me-your-papers law is the exploding number of legal Hispanics, US citizens all, who are daring to vote -- and daring to vote Democratic by more than two-to-one. Unless this demographic locomotive is halted, Arizona Republicans know their party will soon be electoral toast. Or, if you like, tortillas.
<snip>

But that's the point, isn't it? Not to stop non-citizens from entering Arizona -- after all, who else would care for the country club lawn? -- but to harass folks of the wrong color: Democratic blue.


http://www.gregpalast.com/behind-the-arizona-immigration-lawgop-game-to-swipe-the-november-election/

[ProgressiveProfessor]

8. Transpose this to an urban situation in the US. Would the cop have used his weapon?

[okieinpain]

14. yes.

[Lagomorph]

20. Absolutely...

...cops shoot unarmed Americans every damn day.

[superconnected]

9. What bothers me the most - other than the problem that an unarmed 15 yo was killed -

is that plenty of right wingers are calling the boarder guard a hero.

:puke:

[Lasher]

11. I think people should stop throwing rocks at border agents.

I'm sure that would reduce the chance another tragedy like this. Have Mexican authorities done anything to discourage this behavior?

[pinboy3niner]

13. How about border agents choosing NOT to gun down kids?

Eyewitness reports said some kids were throwing rocks, but this boy WASN'T--and the newly-released video seems to back that up.

Border agents have another option--back away, out of range, instead of shooting across the border into Mexico.

If a Mexican border agent fired across the border and killed an American kid, rock-throwing or not, Americans would be demanding the agent's head.

[Lasher]

17. I'm just saying people shouldn't be throwing rocks at border agents.

I think these kids - as well as law enforcement agents on both sides of the border - would be safer if that didn't happen. Do you agree with that, or do you disagree?

And you have no idea how Americans would react to the hypothetical incident you have created.

[pinboy3niner]

18. Saying kids shouldn't throw rocks is like saying people shouldn't litter

People do a lot of things they shouldn't--and they don't deserve to DIE for it.

You demand that I agree or disagree with YOUR statement, when you chose to ignore MINE?

What is really shocking is that you reserve your condemnation for kids throwing rocks while failing to offer one iota of criticism for the Border Patrol agent who gunned down a teenage kid who was an innocent bystander. :puke:

[Lasher]

19. Your argument has been getting plenty of attention.

My idea has gotten little or none in current discussions here or elsewhere. You're trying to switch to a point you'd rather promote, one that has been widely discussed already, and now you're complaining because I won't play along.

I think there are people who want rock attacks against border agents to continue, and I think you're one of them. Pardon me for speculating about your attitude, but since you chose to be evasive I believe I am justified in this.

[pinboy3niner]

28. The notion that I "want rock attacks against border agents to continue"...

...is ludicrous. No one commenting here has advocated that, nor are I or anyone else defending it.

Of COURSE people shouldn't throw rocks at Border Patrol agents--or ANYONE ELSE, for that matter. But the central issues here are disproportionate use of force and the distinct possibility that the boy who was killed was an innocent bystander, not a rock-thrower. That's how witnesses described him, and the video seems to back that up.

Your suggestion that I'm being evasive is disingenuous. YOU never addressed the question I posed that started this subthread: "How about border agents choosing NOT to gun down kids?"

The point is that this tragic death of a teenage boy was needless and avoidable. The agent had the option of NOT shooting.

[Lagomorph]

21. I agree with you....

What are they doing letting their kids get anywhere near the border? It's patrolled by armed agents and smuggling is common knowledge. (The boy was a known smuggler) The kid was throwing rocks at an agent who was making an arrest, which is the agent's job.

If your kids hung out at the border fence and threw rocks at Mexicans, would you be surprised if they were seriously injured or wound up dead? The Mexicans wouldn't hesitate to cross the border to deliver the hurt, either.

[Ignis]

23. That's no excuse for disproportionate force.

[Lasher]

24. Rock throwing is an act of violent aggression.

These attacks are taking place while Mexican federal police are present, who apparently do nothing to discourage them. There are some people who condone or even approve of the rock throwing. Such attitudes do not promote safety on either side of the border.

You are correct, disproportionate force is not to be excused. And by the same token, an individual's sentiments regarding immigration policy do not give license to throw rocks at border agents.

[Ignis]

26. I'm not conflating immigration and disproportionate force.

Not sure where that came in. :shrug:

[Lasher]

27. I brought up rock throwing and you replied to my comment.

Rock throwing is a symptom of immigration controversy. You said disproportionate force (shooting someone for throwing rocks at you) is not to be condoned.

I'm sorry I did not make this connection clear. I thought that I had.

[pinboy3niner]

29. Rock-throwing is not an expression of policy views

I wouldn't take rock throwing to be an expression of "an individual's sentiments regarding immigration policy."

More likely, when Mexicans throw rocks from their side of the border it's out of a natural affinity for their fellow Mexicans being arrested, and perhaps an anti-authoritarian reaction to the border cops doing the arresting.

[Kringle]

30. the 'victim', was a well know felon .nt

[pinboy3niner]

31. A "well know felon"?

Unnamed "officials" alleged to the press that the boy who was killed had served as a 'foot guide' for border crossers as late as sometime last year. Some reports said his last charge was at that time, while others reported that he was never charged. It's not clear at this point that there is any truth at all to the allegations--much less that the boy was ever convicted of a felony.

The unauthorized release of private information from juvenile records by these unidentified officials looks like an effort to smear the dead boy after the fact to make the shooting appear more justifiable--as if the boy deseerved to die for something he may have done in the past.

Are you suggesting the boy doesn't count as a shooting victim? That he had it coming to him?

[Lasher]

32. That doesn't make any sense.

Their sentiments regarding US immigration policy do nothing to motivate these attacks? It's true that Mexican nationalism and resentment of US authorities are involved, but it's wrong to assert that immigration controversy is not. This whole sequence of events was triggered when people were caught illegally entering the US.

Look, I hate it because a young life has been cut short and I don't want anything like that to happen again. That's why I said the rock throwing should stop. I see you agree with this. But Mexican authorities don't seem to be doing anything to discourage it. And so in a larger sense, they are not doing as much as they should on their side to ease border tension.

[pinboy3niner]

33. We can disagree about immigration policy as a particular motivator

This case involved teenage kids, who probably don't have much knowledge about the complex issues of U.S. immigration policy. But I respect your right to your own opinion.

Rock throwing is not limited to teenagers along the Mexican side of the border--it also occurs on our side of the border when U.S. agents encounter those who have already crossed and are on U.S. soil, where Mexican authorities have no jurisdiction and are banned from entering.

If "Mexican authorities don't seem to be doing anything to discourage" rock-throwing at he border, I'd suggest that that's perfectly understandable. Consider the fact that Mexico is in the middle of a crisis right now, with horrendous levels of drug gang-related violence and narco-terror against police, DA's, judges and government officials. They've got their hands full dealing with incidents of torture, beheadings and other executions, so I have a hard time blaming them for not making rock-throwing a serious priority.

[Lasher]

35. A couple of years ago Juarez had the highest murder rate in the world.

You make a good point about them having their hands full with domestic issues. Politicans can find some relief when domestic anger is externalized in cases like this. But sometimes this goes too far. And when that occurs it can be counterproductive when it stirs negative sentiments in the US, as reaction to the incident in question is doing right now.

There's another thing we disagree about: The rock attacks are more more serious than littering. Quite a bit more. If Mexicans could find a way of making this a more serious priority, they would have a better chance of getting the level of empathy from Americans that they expect.

[AlphaCentauri]

12. Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQGRM6kf2zE

[ManiacJoe]

15. Based on what little can be seen in that video,

that would seem to be a wrongful shooting.

[pinboy3niner]

16. Raising question of Mexican jurisdiction, extradition of agent to Mexico

Within the U.S., a victim's state is recognized as having jurisdiction. Under international law, it's murkier, and the U.S. doesn't have an agreement with Mexico providing clear guidelines.

The OP link has more info on these legal issues.

[Posteritatis]

22. Whee, Canadians are blocked from viewing that

I assume some dumbass overlaid some currently-popular song onto it or something?

[depakid]

25. This video contains content from Univision, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds.

There are of course, workarounds...

[Taitertots]

36. Throwing rocks is a violent act of aggression

If Mexico doesn't like our response maybe they should stop their criminals from violently attacking Americans.