Mexican Troops Kidnap Texas Family?

newsmax.com ^ | Thursday, Dec. 4, 2003 | Jon E. Dougherty

[VU4G10]

As many as eight armed Mexican soldiers crossed the border near a tiny Texas hamlet and kidnapped an American family of five last week, and are still holding one of them, sources tell NewsMax. According to a law enforcement source who spoke on condition of anonymity, the incident was reported to local authorities by family members upon their release the following day. From there, local officials reportedly contacted the FBI; federal officials are said to be looking into the incident.

The source said the Mexican unit may have been prompted to cross into the U.S. because the family – a father, mother and three minors – were shooting rabbits on their property near Candelaria, Texas, which is located along the border in Presidio County, about 170 miles south-southeast of El Paso.

A law enforcement bulletin describing the incident said the "family of five kidnapped … by Mexican officials at gunpoint" occurred around 5 p.m. local time Nov. 24. U.S. border authorities were notified the next day.

The family was "taken by gunpoint by Mexican officials to Mexico," the bulletin said. "As of Nov. 25 … four of the family members – one female and three minors – were released, while (the father) Escarcega, Ladislado remains in custody."

Presidio County, Texas authorities confirmed to NewsMax the incident had been reported to the sheriff's department, but a spokesman there said the FBI had taken over the investigation and referred questions surrounding the report to them.

An FBI spokeswoman in Washington, D.C., referred NewsMax to the bureau's El Paso, Texas office, but no one there returned calls seeking comment.

Nevertheless, the bulletin provided more specifics.

Shooting at Rabbits

"It's believed that the family members were shooting at rabbits along the [Rio Grande] river at the time of their kidnapping," the bulletin said. "Local law enforcement was contacted after the release of family members."

In the meantime, said the bulletin, "sector intelligence is continuing to gather information on the occurrence where … follow-up information is needed."

Law enforcement sources said the family was not shooting into Mexico or otherwise threatening Mexican military or civilian personnel.

The latest incursion into the U.S. by armed Mexican troops follows a series of similar incidents directed against U.S. civilians and law enforcement authorities. The most high-profile kidnapping occurred in August 1985, when an eight-man squad of Mexican troops crossed the border onto private property in San Diego County.

The troops came looking specifically for Robert Maupin, the land owner, after he reported the presence of a met amphetamine lab to the Drug Enforcement Agency, which in turn reported it to Mexican authorities. The lab, Maupin told officials, was visible from his land inside the U.S.

More recently, in May 2002, three armed Mexican troops in a military Humvee on the U.S. side of the border near Ajo, Ariz., fired on a Border Patrol agent in his vehicle. As the agent drove away from the scene, a bullet shattered the back glass of his Chevy Tahoe patrol vehicle, which as clearly labeled with U.S. Border Patrol markings.

House Immigration Reform Caucus chairman Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., told the Washington Times in a year ago his office had documented 118 instances where Mexican military or law enforcement had been seen on U.S. soil. In 60 percent of those cases, he said, the Mexicans were armed.

[CindyDawg]

Sounds like an invasion to me. Where are our military?

[WinOne4TheGipper]

Weren't we invaded? Why aren't we hearing more about this?

[observer5]

Hey amigos, don't get bothered by that border...

[Stopislamnow]

Obviously our government cannot protect its citizens. Yet this gets no mainstream media play. How much will we all take before we raise arms and get down to the reaffirmation of our rights, the responsibility of our government, and the accountability of our elected representatives.

[CindyDawg]

I'm serious. If this isn't a reason for our military on the border, I don't know what is.

[Steel Wolf]

I'm suprised Mexico fell for this again. Last time we suckered them into a border dispute it cost them everything from Texas to California. Oh, well, this will be one way to control our borders. Of course, when the border is with El Salvador, there is a lot less land for us to patrol.

[Pro-Bush]

What about them Chinese troops on the Mexican border?

[Arkinsaw]

I am not of Presidential timbre, but I can promise you that the US citizen would be released within a couple of hours.

Just a single telephone call indicating to the Mexican government that the family member should be returned immediately or that the US military would be coming to search for its citizen and that there could be no guarantee of when they would be finished. Thats all it would take. No arguing, no reporters, nothing. Just a phone call and problem solved.

[yonif]

Do we have any military on our border with Mexico? If Egyptian troops tried something like that in Israel, Israeli troops would have pursued them immediately and brought them to justice.

[Arpege92]

Why haven't we heard about this before?

[Gritty]

The Mexicans probably thought they were shooting at drug smugglers.

[yonif]

We don't really have a border with Mexico. This is an outrage and more incidents like this will increase.

[yonif]

Don't worry:

Ridge says technology could help fight smuggling on border

[LibWhacker]

Time for our special ops to go huntin' for some Federales . . . "Show me your badges . . . Not good enough!" BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

[Howie66]

I have had my fill with candy-a$$ed approach that our government has had when it comes to Mexico and their scummy way of dealing with our border.

You would have thought that we would have gotten serious about this issue on 11 SEPTEMBER 2001. I was amazed that we did virtually NOTHING then and so very little up to this point in time.

I guess that when we get hit with a dirty bomb or some such by someone who sneaks across our border, MAYBE our government might get serious, but I assure you, I'm not going to hold my breath on it.

[sarcasm]

Here they are:

[hosepipe]

Remember the Alamo.... seize the day -AND- Baja California..

[VU4G10]

"don't tell mom I wet my pants"