Don't try to enter Mexico with weapons

[seamusTX]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/ ... SECTION=US

A U.S. soldier is in jail in Mexico after crossing the border with weapons. It sounds like he became disoriented after driving all night.

- Jim

[The Annoyed Man]

Something like that happened to a friend of mine in El Paso back in the mid 1970s. He forgot that he had an M1 carbine and an ammo box full of rounds for it in the trunk of his car. He had been out to his ranch earlier that day, and he brought the carbine with him for rabbit medicine. That night, he took a date across the border for a dinner in Juarez, and it was while coming back across the border to the U.S. side that American border agents found the rifle and ammo in his trunk.

It was a bad deal all around.

[Lodge2004]

That is just wrong. The Mexican authorities took advantage of the situation and are holding him for ransom.

The AP does not help by saying he "was carrying a small arsenal in his car: an AR-15 assault rifle, a .45-caliber handgun, 171 rounds of ammunition, several cartridges and three knives."

That's NOT a small arsenal. He was traveling light, that's not even a full "bug out bag" worth of stuff.

[Skiprr]

Yep. And once again it strikes me we need to find ways of establishing "remedial journalism" classes. The AP story (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 68993.html) starts out:

EL PASO — When he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, Spc. Richard Torres was carrying a small arsenal in his car: an AR-15 assault rifle, a .45-caliber handgun, 171 rounds of ammunition, several cartridges and three knives.

"Assault rifle": we won't even go there; been down that road too many times.

A whopping 171 rounds of ammo...this guy was moving his stuff to his mother's house in California before he deployed to Honduras, and he had less than the number of rounds I take with me for quick hour at the range.

And if different than ammunition, what are "several cartridges"? Could she possibly mean magazines?

Three knives. Wow. Wonder if it was one Kershaw folder, a Swiss Army knife, and a Leatherman tool?

How could any sane individual be driving with an arsenal like that in the car? (I'm thinking of my last trip to Victoria to Farnam's class: with me in the SUV were four handguns, an AR-15, a Remington 870, 18 or 20 "cartridges" (mags), and about 2,000 rounds of various ammo...but only two knives .)

Investigators with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives concluded that Torres was not smuggling weapons into Mexico to sell them.

Ya think?

Not to push any political or immigration controversy buttons, but it struck me as interesting that also in today's paper was an article titled, "Federal Agents Capture Fugitives." In part:

Government agents will work today processing 89 illegal immigrants arrested in Houston during a four-day "surge" operation this week, an effort to reduce a backlog of 30,000 immigration fugitives in the area, officials said.... During the operation, which began early Tuesday and ended Friday, a total of 89 illegal immigrants were arrested, including 28 who had criminal convictions. Of the total apprehended, 77 had orders of removal and another 12 were encountered during the operation...

And let's not forget that just Thursday jurors returned a guilty verdict against Juan Quintero (illegal and already once-deported alien) in the murder of Officer Rodney Johnson.

So ya gotta conclude that Mexico is a lot more effective at border and immigration control than we are. They sure nailed Army Specialist Torres before he could do any harm...

[dustyb]

I'm sure President Bush will handle this situation...

[nuparadigm]

I'm sure President Bush will handle this situation...

[Kerbouchard]

That is just wrong. The Mexican authorities took advantage of the situation and are holding him for ransom.

The AP does not help by saying he "was carrying a small arsenal in his car: an AR-15 assault rifle, a .45-caliber handgun, 171 rounds of ammunition, several cartridges and three knives."

That's NOT a small arsenal. He was traveling light, that's not even a full "bug out bag" worth of stuff.

No, they didn't. And if he would have been allowed to 'turn around', he would have been arrested upon entering the United States for transporting firearms across the border. Mexico specifically prohibits the transportation of weapons, ammo, and knives across their borders. HE broke the law. HE went somewhere he wasn't supposed to with items he wasn't supposed to have...I believe we call that smuggling.

He had several chances to turn around. He could have stopped at the border and spoken to OUR Border agents and explained he needed to turn around and why. There were many ways he could have avoided this entire thing. He broke the law. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

If one of us walked into a school or gov't building with our handgun, we would be talking about stringing him up for making us look bad.

This guy will probably get more than he deserves, but everybody in the service knows that is a possibility when you enter other countries. Don't break laws. Don't transport illegal items across NATIONAL borders. Don't be STUPID.

I have NO sympathy for this guy.

[nuparadigm]

It's strange that armed Mexican troops can set foot in the United States with no penalty attached
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/se ... troops.htm, while a U.S. Soldier who, in his own forgetfulness and disorientation, blunders into Mexico with a few personal weapons. I wonder: did he have any rounds chambered? was he pointing them at anyone?

True; he violated their laws. I wonder what we'll do the next time they violate ours?

Sorry. I forgot. Our President will handle the situation.

[dustyb]

Sorry. I forgot. Our President will handle the situation.

I'm sure he is postponing Jenna's wedding to deal with it as we speak...

[tarkus]

So ya gotta conclude that Mexico is a lot more effective at border and immigration control than we are. They sure nailed Army Specialist Torres before he could do any harm...

They probably won't even let him vote down there.

[yerasimos]

I generally agree with Kerbouchard's analysis. Setting aside raw ethics, when it comes to crossing national borders, we really need to think twice about what we have in our luggage, what is in our car, our appearance, and everything else, to maximize the odds of a smooth interaction with customs people and getting back in transit as soon as possible. Using a CHL as a form of identification in a customs inspection does not help at all---period. And a trunkload of weapons and ammunition virtually assures a lengthy and unwelcome detour.

Touching upon some of the other posters' comments, I think this needs to be voiced, rather than simply whispered or banished to the subconscious: I believe our southern neighbors are still angry about 1848 and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, among other things.

I believe this angry dynamic touches every aspect of Mexican-American relations, all the way from high-level diplomacy to the street. I believe it underlies the illegal immigration (partially), the repeated incursions of Mexican troops, the way firearm laws are enforced in Mexico with extreme partiality against Americans, the way Mexican law enforcement deals with American tourists, and the way Mexican law enforcement deals with their American counterparts.

I expect this animosity to be nursed and continue to fester until Mexico/Mexicans get a sizeable comeuppance against the USA in one form or another, if ever.

I have no desire to visit Mexico unless I have a very good reason, or if conditions in the USA become very bad. And even then, I hardly expect to be welcomed---or at least not welcomed in a positive sense. As I see it, my rights in Mexico are less than zero.

All that said, I fully support learning Spanish for its utility, and befriending people as individuals, wherever they come from.

[Skiprr]

I believe our southern neighbors are still angry about 1848 and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, among other things.

Witness the uproar in Houston when it was announced the new, professional soccer team would be named "1836." Never mind that Mexicans in Texas were integral to the leadership, desire, and fight for independence of the Republic.

Barely a week later, the team's name was changed from "1836" to "Dynamo". And I'll bet the marketing firm that came up with "1836" was summarily fired.

[bdickens]

171 Rounds?????? That's not even a full Basic Load! Small arsenal? Some of us must own enough weapons for a small African country!

My wife gave up on jounalism in her second year in college; they actually teach "reporters" to be stupid!

[bdickens]

Our President will handle the situation.

Surely you jest! He won' even intervene in the case of Border Patrol agents or Marines who get caught doing their jobs a little too well and have bull charges leveled against them.

[nuparadigm]

Our President will handle the situation.

Surely you jest! He won' even intervene in the case of Border Patrol agents or Marines who get caught doing their jobs a little too well and have bull charges leveled against them.

Yes. See post #6 (above).