October 1, 2010
Mexican military was caught crossing the United States border via the Progesso International Border. They were chasing a driver who attempted to cross, and then they driver turned back to Mexico. Officials stated on the KRGV news website that they believed the crossing was unintended; however, the news station made the interesting inquiry of whether international/political fallout resulting from this incident.[1]
Although this news report is only a brief one, this is not the first time the Mexican military has crossed U.S lines; on March 2010, helicopters with the Mexican navy insignia crossed the line and started hovering over homes in Texas, making homeowners feel uneasy[2]. The incident was never really explained, and it left people wondering what was occurring on the Mexican side of the border.
In fact, the Minutemen website claimed in 2006 that the Mexican Army in their sector had crossed the border to Arizona at least 200 times.[3]
A lack of action on both the U.S and Mexican sides has made this situation seemingly strange, and the silence is being noted by citizens here in the Valley as well.
Comments:
As far as unauthorized crossings, the law is perfectly clear; soldiers have no business crossing our borders, even if they are chasing criminals. The communication between the army in Mexico and our Border Patrol needs to be fixed. The Border Patrol can apprehend criminals once they cross U.S territory. Unsettling rumors of corruption of the Mexican armed forces makes it hard to determine friend from foe, but these crossings cannot keep occurring for long without investigation, because one day, a concerned citizen may shoot a solider out of fear, and then a incident sparking international attention will only bring further negative attention to the border situation.
A proposed solution would be for both the Mexican and American governments to sit down and agree to who and when can cross our borders to apprehend criminals if needed. The improved communication will surely lead to other ideas as well; once leaders have a clearer idea of who are friends and enemies, then we can move on to a better solution.