Thread: Attacks against Border Patrol agents rising along Mexican bo

http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=4050443&nav=9qrx

Attacks against Border Patrol agents rising along Mexican border


SAN YSIDRO, Calif. Attacks against Border Patrol agents are rising along the Mexican border as patrols face increasing resistance from drug traffickers and human smugglers.

Border Patrol officials say at least 687 assaults against agents were reported over the last year -- nearly double the previous year's total of 354.

Most assaults happen in California and Arizona, where borders have been heavily fortified. But the recent violence has spread out across the Southwest as illegal immigration corridors have shifted.

In Tucson and San Diego, agents reported being shot at 43 times -- up from 18 the previous year.

In many attacks, smugglers threw rocks or Molotov cocktails. Some tried to run over agents with vehicles.

Agents expect the hostile climate to intensify as the border becomes increasingly hard to cross.

www.latimes.com

Violent Border Clashes Surging
Attacks on American agents have doubled as tighter security on the U.S.-Mexico line spurs desperate smugglers to use fire, rocks and guns.
By Richard Marosi
Times Staff Writer

October 31, 2005

SAN YSIDRO, Calif. â€â€