MinutemanEagle1
Inactive
Funny how this stuff doesn't get much press. Do we need to get some sheriffs or other American citizens killed, before the media decides it's worth talking about?
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http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51080
U.S. lawmen outgunned along Mexican border
Bad guys have superior firepower, can eavesdrop on communications of American law enforcement
Posted: July 17, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Joseph Farah
Hundreds of rounds of automatic-weapons fire rained down on South Texas sheriff's deputies and Border Patrol agents from the Mexican side of the border as they investigated a horror story told by two American brothers who fled across the Rio Grande fearing for their lives.
Several Hidalgo County deputies and at least four Border patrol agents were met with a sustained hail of gunfire alternating from the south to the east and lasting nearly 10 minutes, the officers said.
Yet, not a single shot was returned by the deputies or the Border Patrol officers last Wednesday night because they were outmanned and outgunned – a condition increasingly common along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border, say law enforcement officials.
"This is one of the reasons that I do not allow my deputies to patrol the riverbanks or levies close to the river," explained Sheriff Lupe Treviño, "because we do know there are drug gangs and human trafficking gangs that will not hesitate to shoot in our direction to get us out of the area."
U.S. police officers and Border Patrol agents facing superior firepower from drug cartels, criminal street gangs and human smugglers based in Mexico? Yes, say law enforcement officials – and the situation is getting worse, not better.
Sigifredo Gonzales Jr., sheriff of Zapata County, Texas, recently testified in startling detail before a congressional committee how his officers are facing overwhelming odds in any confrontation with the criminal gangs who consider the border their turf.
"The cartels operating in Mexico and the United States have demonstrated that the weapons they possess can and will be used in protecting their caches," he said. "One informant familiar with the operations of these cartels mentioned to us that the weapons we use are water guns compared to what we will have to come up against if we ever have to. These cartels, known to frequently cross into the United States, possess and use automatic weapons, grenades and grenade launchers. They are also experts in explosives, wiretapping, counter-surveillance, lock-picking and GPS technology. They are able to monitor our office, home and cellular phone conversations. The original members of this cartel were trained in the United States by our government."
Gonzales was one of several law enforcement officials who testified before the Committee on House International Relations Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation on what they see as a serious terrorist threat at the Mexican border.
These powerful criminal gangs would not think twice about bringing terrorists or even weapons of mass destruction into the U.S. if the price was right, the officials agreed. Some of them believe they have already arrived.
(Full text of the article can be read at the above URL)
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http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51080
U.S. lawmen outgunned along Mexican border
Bad guys have superior firepower, can eavesdrop on communications of American law enforcement
Posted: July 17, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Joseph Farah
Hundreds of rounds of automatic-weapons fire rained down on South Texas sheriff's deputies and Border Patrol agents from the Mexican side of the border as they investigated a horror story told by two American brothers who fled across the Rio Grande fearing for their lives.
Several Hidalgo County deputies and at least four Border patrol agents were met with a sustained hail of gunfire alternating from the south to the east and lasting nearly 10 minutes, the officers said.
Yet, not a single shot was returned by the deputies or the Border Patrol officers last Wednesday night because they were outmanned and outgunned – a condition increasingly common along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border, say law enforcement officials.
"This is one of the reasons that I do not allow my deputies to patrol the riverbanks or levies close to the river," explained Sheriff Lupe Treviño, "because we do know there are drug gangs and human trafficking gangs that will not hesitate to shoot in our direction to get us out of the area."
U.S. police officers and Border Patrol agents facing superior firepower from drug cartels, criminal street gangs and human smugglers based in Mexico? Yes, say law enforcement officials – and the situation is getting worse, not better.
Sigifredo Gonzales Jr., sheriff of Zapata County, Texas, recently testified in startling detail before a congressional committee how his officers are facing overwhelming odds in any confrontation with the criminal gangs who consider the border their turf.
"The cartels operating in Mexico and the United States have demonstrated that the weapons they possess can and will be used in protecting their caches," he said. "One informant familiar with the operations of these cartels mentioned to us that the weapons we use are water guns compared to what we will have to come up against if we ever have to. These cartels, known to frequently cross into the United States, possess and use automatic weapons, grenades and grenade launchers. They are also experts in explosives, wiretapping, counter-surveillance, lock-picking and GPS technology. They are able to monitor our office, home and cellular phone conversations. The original members of this cartel were trained in the United States by our government."
Gonzales was one of several law enforcement officials who testified before the Committee on House International Relations Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation on what they see as a serious terrorist threat at the Mexican border.
These powerful criminal gangs would not think twice about bringing terrorists or even weapons of mass destruction into the U.S. if the price was right, the officials agreed. Some of them believe they have already arrived.
(Full text of the article can be read at the above URL)
