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  1. #1
    Senior Member HAPPY2BME's Avatar
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    Obama: No Arming of U.S. Agents in Mexico

    FOX News

    Obama: No Arming of U.S. Agents in Mexico

    "There are laws in place in Mexico that say that our agents should not be armed."
    President Obama on Thursday appeared to reject the idea of arming U.S. agents in Mexico, saying after a meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon that the two governments will look at other ways to protect American officials in the wake of a fatal shooting last month.

    "There are laws in place in Mexico that say that our agents should not be armed," Obama said, describing the U.S. role south of the border as an "advisory" one. "We do not carry out law enforcement activities inside of Mexico."

    The president's statement answers speculation about how far the administration would go in reforming safety measures in response to the killing three weeks ago of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata in Mexico. The shooting death raised questions in the U.S. about Mexico's ability to control violence but U.S. officials earlier wouldn't say whether Obama would press the Mexican leader to allow U.S. agents to be armed.

    Coming out of the meeting Thursday afternoon, both presidents stressed that U.S. agents cannot be armed. Obama said he was nevertheless concerned about the safety of agents and that they would examine "procedures and protocols" for how to better protect them.

    Calderon said Mexican officials are "deeply analyzing alternatives."

    Obama, signaling the two presidents discussed the killing, thanked the Mexican government Thursday for its cooperation in the investigation and vowed that the United States would be a "full partner" in fighting the drug cartels.

    "Whether they live in Texas or Tijuana, our people have a right to be safe in their communities," Obama said.

    Shortly before the meeting, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano also told a House committee that the administration would seek to extradite the suspects in the case so they can be prosecuted in the United States.

    Several suspects have been arrested in the killing of Zapata, and Mexican authorities say one has confessed. Napolitano declined to discuss reported statements from suspects being held in Mexico that the Feb. 15 killing was a case of mistaken identity

    Despite the ongoing concerns about the ICE agent killing, the president was able to announce a breakthrough in a longstanding trucking dispute between the two countries.

    Obama, speaking at a joint press conference with his Mexican counterpart, announced that the countries had "finally found a clear path" to resolving the trucking dispute, saying the proposal would lift tariffs on U.S. goods, expand U.S. exports and create jobs.

    The plan would open up U.S. highways to Mexican trucks, removing a long-standing roadblock to improved relations between the North American allies. An Obama administration official said the two leaders have agreed to a phased-in plan that would authorize both Mexican and U.S. long-haul carriers to engage in cross-border operations, provided that the Mexican trucks meet U.S. safety standards. Both countries were given this authority under the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, but the U.S. has refused to allow Mexican trucks access amid concerns over their ability to meet America's stringent safety and environmental standards.

    At the press briefing Thursday, Obama also re-emphasized his commitment to pursuing comprehensive immigration reform, something that has eluded him so far.

    The contentious debate over immigration dominated Calderon's visit to the White House in May, shortly after Arizona passed a law that makes it a state crime to be in the U.S. illegally and requires police to question people about their immigration status if there's reason to suspect they're illegal. Mexico's government strongly opposes the law, and the Mexican Senate this week urged Calderon to again vehemently make their opposition known to Obama.

    Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Rep. Charles Gonzalez, D-Texas, said in a statement Thursday that his group remains "committed" to comprehensive immigration reform, despite the failure last year to pass a bill providing some illegal immigrant students and military members a pathway to legalized status. "Despite this impasse, the CHC remains committed to our stated goal of passing comprehensive immigration reform and will continue to work to find a bipartisan solution to one of our nation's most untenable problems," Gonzalez said.

    Obama and Calderon were also expected to discuss U.S. aid to help support Mexico in the drug war, something Obama touched on at the press briefing. A senior administration official said the U.S. plans to speed up implementation of the $1.4 billion Merida Initiative, with $900 million to be doled out by the end of the year. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to preview the announcement.

    The announcement comes as the State Department issued a report praising Mexico's government for increased drug seizures and better efforts to combat narcotics trafficking and money laundering. But it said Mexican production of marijuana, heroin and methamphetamines was rapidly rising, and that cartels were becoming even more dangerous through use of sniper rifles, grenades and increasingly military tactics.

    Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03 ... z1FfGe2wWd
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  2. #2
    Senior Member HAPPY2BME's Avatar
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    Agent killed at border shot beanbags at armed illegals...

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    Records show agents fired beanbags in fatal border gunfight

    Two agents fired beanbags at the migrants, who responded with gunfire.
    Border Patrol agents shot beanbags at a group of suspected bandits before the men returned fire during a confrontation in a remote canyon, killing agent Brian Terry with a single gunshot, records show.

    And an illegal immigrant wounded in the gunbattle who is now the only person in custody linked to the slaying contends he never fired a shot, according to FBI search warrant requests filed in the U.S. District Court in Tucson.

    The documents provide the most detailed version yet of what happened in the deadly gunbattle Dec. 14 in Peck Canyon, northwest of Nogales.

    The documents say the group of illegal border entrants refused commands to drop their weapons after agents confronted them at about 11:15 p.m. Two agents fired beanbags at the migrants, who responded with gunfire. Two agents returned fire, one with a long gun and one with a pistol, but Terry was mortally wounded in the gunfight.

    Border Patrol officials declined to answer questions about protocol for use of force, citing the ongoing investigation.

    But Terry's brother, Kent Terry, said the other agents who were there that night told him that they were instructed to use the non-lethal beanbags first. It's a policy that doesn't make sense to Kent Terry.

    "You go up against a bandit crew that is carrying AKs, and you walk out there with guns loaded with beanbags - I don't get it," Terry said in a phone interview from Michigan. "It's like going to the Iraqi war with one knife. It boggles my mind. ... These guys (Border Patrol agents) are professionals; they should be able to use their judgment call on their own."

    On the night of the deadly encounter, agents were trying to apprehend at least five suspected illegal immigrants. One agent, using thermal binoculars, spotted two men carrying rifles. When the group came close, at least one agent identified himself as police and ordered the men to drop their weapons.

    Here's how the rest of the events are described in the FBI document:

    "When the suspected aliens did not drop their weapons, two Border Patrol agents deployed 'less than lethal' beanbags at the suspected aliens. At this time, at least one of the suspected aliens fired at the Border Patrol agents. Two Border Patrol agents returned fire, one with his long gun and one with his pistol.

    "Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was shot with one bullet and died shortly after. One of the suspected illegal aliens, later identified as Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, was also shot."

    The search warrants were requested to examine fingerprints and a hair sample from Osorio-Arellanes, who was one of four men arrested that night near the shooting scene. The other three arrested, illegal immigrants from Mexico, have been cleared in connection with the crime and deported back to their home countries.

    Osorio-Arellanes has not been charged in connection with the fatal shooting. He has been charged only with illegal re-entry after deportation and is awaiting a May 10 trial. The FBI document represents the first time his name has been included in a public document related to the shooting.

    Two days after the shooting, Osorio-Arellanes agreed to talk to FBI agents. He was traveling with four others that night, all of whom were armed, Osorio-Arellanes told investigators, according to the document.

    "Osorio-Arellanes stated that he had raised his weapon towards the Border Patrol agents, but he did not fire because he realized that they were Border Patrol agents," the search warrant says. "At this time, he was shot."

    Two firearms were recovered at the scene that are believed to belong to the suspects, the documents say. Officials were planning to take Osorio-Arellanes' fingerprints to compare with those found on the two weapons.

    Officials also recovered five backpacks, three gloves, two sweat shirts, a pullover, a jacket, a knit hat, a baseball cap and a razor.

    The summary provided in the search warrants is only a snapshot and does not include all facts known by investigators, FBI agents wrote in the three separate search-warrant requests filed in U.S. District Court in late December.

    Terry, 40, of Michigan, was a member of a specially trained tactical unit known as Bortac. On the night of the shooting, Terry and his crew were targeting a "rip crew" that robbed and assaulted drug runners and illegal immigrants, said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

    This week, the Terry family received the autopsy report, which shows that Terry was shot once in the lower back, about 29 inches down from the right shoulder, Kent Terry said. Brian Terry was trying to turn, likely for cover, when he was shot, Kent Terry said. The bullet found inside his body was one used with AK-47s, he said.

    The report gave the family some closure, and it erased any doubt about friendly fire being a possibility in the fatal shooting, because agents don't use AK-47s, Kent Terry said. The FBI announced in mid-February that it had ruled out friendly fire, but Kent Terry remained skeptical because he hadn't seen the autopsy.

    The Terry family remains upset about allegations that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowed a gun smuggler it was investigating to purchase and smuggle into Mexico the weapons used in the shootout in which Terry died. The Justice Department has denied the allegations, but U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, continues to insist on the validity of the claims.

    "Your government is telling you to use beanbags, but you are selling guns back to the Mexicans," Kent Terry said. "There's a lot of questions that they haven't answered."

    The FBI investigation remains ongoing, said agency spokesman Manuel Johnson. No arrests have been made. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona said investigators and prosecutors aim to bring criminal charges against the people responsible for Brian Terry's murder.

    Terry, 40, was the 10th agent to die on duty in the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector since 1926 and the first agent shot to death since 1998. Terry was buried in his hometown of Detroit on Dec. 22, and hundreds attended his memorial service January in Tucson.

    http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/a ... b8a31.html
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  3. #3
    Senior Member stevetheroofer's Avatar
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    "Obama absolutely refuses to defend us from a foreign invasion, and now we can't even defend ourselves!"
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  4. #4
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    Obama: No Arming of U.S. Agents in Mexico
    OKAY how long before the next dead agent takes place in Mexico?!

  5. #5
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    Obama Is now a confirmed CLOWN In the office of the President. The "peace" President

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    We have laws in this country as well that mexico doesn't seem to give a damn about! Once again obummer confirms it's all give and take with mexico and we are doing all the giving.
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    Senior Member dregerk's Avatar
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    reply

    THEN PULL EVERY LAST "ADVISOR" OUT of there and bring them back to the USA and put them ARMED along the Southern Borders!

    And stop giving them Billions of our tax dollars!

    God, I am so sick and tired of what Mexico tries to tell us and what we try to tell them! For gods sake get the JELLO out of that country until (IF EVER) they FIX IT!
    Any and all comments & Opinions and postings by me are considered of my own opinion, and not of any ORG that I belong to! PERIOD!

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    Quote Originally Posted by topsecret10
    Obama Is now a confirmed CLOWN In the office of the President. The "peace" President


    LOVE IT!!!


  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by jamesw62
    Obama: No Arming of U.S. Agents in Mexico
    OKAY how long before the next dead agent takes place in Mexico?!

    Exactly!! I give it a few weeks.

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