Mexico/USA border tensions at an all time high
by Hector Carreon La Voz de Aztlan Los Angeles, Alta California - March 18, 2005 - (ACN) Tensions along the Mexico/USA border in Arizona are at an all time high and increasing as April 1st, the day the Minutemen vigilantes are to commence their operations against Mexican immigrants, approaches. Not since the Mexican-American War or the General Francisco Villa's raid on Columbus, New Mexico in 1916 have US/Mexico relations been so grave. Currently, the Minutemen vigilantes, a ragtag group of Americans, plan to congregate in Tombstone, Arizona on April Fools Day for a month long operation to patrol the border, and this can have serious implications on USA security concerns regarding its southern border. There is no question that the USA needs Mexico to help secure its southern border against the infiltration of dangerous terrorists bent on destroying Washington D.C. and/or New York City with nuclear or biological weapons. The redneck border vigilantes are not helping one iota in this matter but instead are being counterproductive by going after defenseless Mexican migrant workers that pose absolutely no security threat to the USA. It is a known fact that many of the immigrants that cross the border are from Indigenous tribes in Mexico. These migrations have been occurring since prior to the Europeans arriving on the continent. In fact, present day Mexico City (Tenochtitlan) was founded when the Mexicas (Aztecs) migrated south from Aztlan which was located north of the present Mexico/USA border line. The ignorant vigilantes most probably do not have the education to know this fact and are acting out of their deep-seated ethnocentrism, xenophobia and bigotry. The Minutemen and its leadership have proven themselves to be nothing less than a gang of anti-Mexican racists and their actions have the potential of alienating Mexico, its government and the millions of Americans of Mexican descent on this side of the border. This gang hopefully will meet up with the Maras Salvatruchas as has been reported on the Internet during the past few days. We ask, does the USA need more world enemies, especially a neighbor next door? Is it not true that the leaders of Venezuela, Cuba and other South American countries would like nothing less than a friendlier and more cooperative Mexico? Should peace loving Americans allow riffraff like the Minutemen vigilantes to dictate its foreign policy towards Mexico, Central and South America? Also, there is no question that within the ranks of the Minutemen are good well-intentioned but naive Americans under the spell and lies of its leadership. On the other hand there are extremely violent and criminal elements as well. In a May 2000 conference in Sierra Vista, Arizona organized by these same characters under the pretext of having some "Fun in the Sun" and which was attended by extremists from across the USA, a proposal was made in the open by some of the participants. The proposal was to place military land mines at strategic places along the border pathways in the desert used by Mexican immigrants. In the days prior, during and after the Sierra Vista "Fun in the Sun" conference, many ambushes of Mexican immigrants took place in the area. One notorious incident took place on Friday May 12th near the border with Sasabe, Sonora, Mexico. In this incident, one of many, two Anglo vigilantes on horseback and armed with high power hunting rifles shot and critically wounded an undocumented Mexican worker attempting to cross the border. Twenty year old Miguel Angel Palofox Aguerrin of Guasave, Sinaloa and four companions were ambushed by, what is believe to be, two attendees of the Sierra Vista conference. Many observers believe that the same thing will occur, with far more dire consequences, during the month long April vigilantism planned by the nefarious Minutemen. The Minutemen are pretty much the same individuals that planned the Sierra Vista conference in 2000 and that resulted in a series of atrocities against Mexican immigrants. One of these characters is Glenn Spencer. Spencer moved from Los Angeles to the Sierra Vista area to be "where the action is". He had a long history of anti-Mexican actions in Los Angeles until the large Mexican community here made things very difficult for him. Glenn Spencer claims to be a member of the Jewish Defense League and says that his two sons-in-law, who are Jewish, are also members. Spencer hates Mexicans but is also very fearful of us. In early August of 2003, a bizarre incident occurred at his home in Sierra Vista that resulted in his arrest and conviction. On a Friday night in August of 2003 Spencer "cracked" and started firing wildly with his .357 magnum rifle. The shots tore through his neighbors' homes and terrorized families that lived in his neighborhood. An off duty sheriff's deputy heard the shots and responded. Glenn Spencer told the deputy that he fired several rounds from a lever-action .357 caliber rifle after hearing noises outside his home. He said, "the Mexicans" are out to get me". He explained to the arresting officers that he had received "death threats" through e-mail and that the American Border Patrol headquarters had been trashed. He was convicted for the shooting spree and had to move out of Sierra Vista after his neighbors complained. Glenn Spencer works very closely with two other anti-Mexican vigilantes in Arizona. One is a Chris Simcox of Tombstone and the other is a Roger Barnett of the Douglas area. Chris Simcox is a co-organizer of the Minutemen vigilantes and is also, like Spencer, a transplant from Los Angeles. Simcox was arrested while armed and "hunting for Mexicans" on federal land in January of 2003. Roger Barnett is a rancher near Douglas who has boasted the he "will kill Mexicans" if he has to. His photographs carrying an assault rifle have been published in the national media. Barnett is presently facing a federal civil suit by 10 Mexican migrants whom he detained and beat up at gun point. Roger Barnett has been a speaker at anti-Mexican rallies in Los Angeles organized by Glenn Spencer when Spencer lived here. In addition, Glenn Spencer, Chris Simcox and Roger Barnett have very close ties to Ranch Rescue, another vigilante group. In September of 2004, convicted felon Casey James Nethercott of Ranch Rescue was arrested by FBI agents in Douglas in connection with a tense confrontation with Border Patrol agents. Kalen Riddle of Aberdeen, Washington, a member of the vigilantes, was shot and seriously injured during the arrest, which took place in a Safeway shopping center on the west side of Douglas. In another incident involving Ranch Rescue, its leader took shots at the Mexican military across the border. "Two in the chest and one in the head," warned Jack Foote, head of Ranch Rescue. He said his group was protecting the rights of property owners. The leadership and some of the members of the Minutemen vigilantes have a criminal and violent past and it is almost certain that a violent confrontation will take place along the Mexico/USA border this coming month of April. Most likely, many of the naive and well-intentioned members of the Minutemen will become victims including Simcox's patsy Jim Gilchrist. The dangers for these unwanted vigilantes in Arizona are many. One of these dangers was expressed best by the mayor of Douglas, Ray Borane, yesterday when he said, ". . . Gilchrist needs to understand that this isn't a game when he says he's coming down here and showing his patriotism. He's on the verge of creating an international incident." Ray Borane said that Mexican media reports sounding the alarm about "immigrant hunters" have stirred resentment across the border in Agua Prieta. "I'm worried that people could come down to the fence and rock those people, or even shoot them," said Mayor Ray Borane. He also cited reports on the Internet that a leader of the Mara Salvatrucha has issued instructions from jail to "teach a lesson" to the Americans. In addition, a large group of Latino organizations under the umbrella of the National Alliance for Human Rights led by UC Professor Armando Navarro is mobilizing to challenge the Minutemen vigilantes at the border. Armando Navarro is planning a series of actions that have not yet been disclosed but sources say it will include forming a human chain across the border and demonstrating in front of the home of patsy Jim Gilchrist in Aliso Viejo, California. The protest at Gilchrist's home will be led by Felipe Aguirre, legal coordinator of Comite Pro Uno, a Los Angeles-area based migrant advocacy group. Also, other groups and the Mexican media will be present to photograph, videotape and document the actions of the vigilantes. The individual vigilantes will be photographed and their pictures published in the international media as "ugly Americans". This is not all, the Mexican government will be there in force to document any human rights abuses by the vigilantes. They plan to charge any "crazies" in the US federal courts and in international tribunals. There is one glimmer of hope concerning the mess that the vigilantes are creating at the border. This hope arises from the meeting that President Vicente Fox of Mexico will be having with President George Bush in Waco, Texas next week. George Bush needs to clamp down hard on the vigilantes before they create an international incident endangering the overall security of the United States. There is much that this country owes to Mexico and to Mexicans on both sides of the border. Land is not cheap and especially the value of the US southwest (Aztlan). Should we not start thinking of how the theft of Aztlan can be compensated for? Please Note: La Voz de Aztlan has a long series of reports on US vigilantism along the Mexico/USA border. These reports are related to the article above and they can be found through the search engine at: http://www.aztlan.net/search.htm [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! 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