http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... 06-ON.html

Mexican official refuses to rule out trial-in-absence of U.S. Border Patrol agent

Associated Press
Jan. 6, 2006 10:05 AM

MEXICO CITY - The Mexican government is satisfied with the United States' promise to conduct a thorough investigation of the events surrounding the shooting death of a Mexican migrant allegedly by a U.S. Border Patrol agent, President Vicente Fox's spokesman said Friday.

"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke with the Mexican foreign secretary to guarantee that there will be an independent investigation and that they will take the appropriate actions," Ruben Aguilar said. "This seems to us to be an adequate attitude."

On Thursday, Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said that he and Interior Secretary Carlos Abascal had been assured by Rice and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff that there would be an investigation in order to avoid the perception that U.S. officials were trying to protect the agent in question. The agent has not been identified.

But Derbez also said that Mexico might consider a trial-in-absence of the Border Patrol officer, and he added that he believed last week's shooting death of Guillermo Martinez, 18, was caused by "a negative atmosphere" toward migrants in the United States. The Border Patrol says the shooting occurred after the migrant, who was trying to cross the border illegally, threw a large rock at the agent.

"The truth is that the negative atmosphere has unfortunately generated, has led to, this death," Derbez told reporters in Mexico City.

"We have had to suffer the loss of a human life, a Mexican, for the message to get out about the effects of xenophobia, of making wrong-headed proposals," he said.

Derbez was apparently referring to a proposal recently approved by the U.S. House of Representatives that would tighten immigration enforcement and extend border walls, a bill Derbez has called "stupid."

Asked if Mexico would consider trying the agent in absence, Derbez said "if the Attorney General's Office finds elements to do that, that is simply in line with Mexican government policy, which is not to rule out any potential action that we could use to avoid this going unpunished."

Mexican federal prosecutors have taken the unusual step of opening a homicide investigation into the case, without naming any suspects.

Derbez also suggested that Border Patrol reports that Martinez was an immigrant trafficker with 11 previous detentions in the United States were part of an effort to protect the agent who fired the shot.

In Tijuana, Martinez's brother, Agustin, denied his brother was involved in human trafficking.

"It's not true," Martinez said. "My brother lived with very little money."

Assistant Foreign Relations Secretary Geronimo Gutierrez said that "even if the investigation concludes that there was no (criminal) responsibility on the part of the agent, the (victim's) family still has the right to bring a criminal complaint or civil lawsuit."

AP-WS-01-06-06 1122EST

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I shudder to think what will happen if Mexico gets their way and this BP agent gets extradited to stand trial in Mexico.