Hunting of Mexicans along US/Mexico Border Escalates - Two Dead
by
Ernesto Cienfuegos
La Voz de Aztlan
Los Angeles, Alta California - October 18, 2002 - (ACN) La Voz de Aztlan has just been informed by the Mexican Consulate in Tucson, Arizona that a group of Mexican migrants came under a "sniper" attack near the town of Red Rock, Arizona killing two and injuring an unknown number of others. The consulate spokeswoman Dulce Mascareņo said that the group was about 6 kilometers from Interstate Highway 10 in Pinal County yesterday when a vehicle approached them and fired a number of shots from a distance.
The Pinal County Sheriff's Department has confirmed the killing of two Mexicans that were part of a larger group traveling together. The vehicle nor the shooters have been identified by the police. The Sheriffs estimate that the two dead were part of a group of twelve.
Dulce Mascareņo of the Mexican Consulate said that a 32 year old from the State of Mexico, who survived the attack, was placed under the protection of the consulate. She added that he will remain in the United States in order to bring charges against the assailants when and if they are captured.
Humanitarian organizations are presently searching the desert for at least 6 who, according to the survivor under the protection of the Mexican Consulate, were injured by the fusillade of bullets. The total number of dead may be greater after the incident is completely investigated.
This cowardly "hunting down" of Mexican workers crossing the border is similar to another that occurred near the border town of Sasabe, Arizona on May 12, 2000. In this case, two Anglos on horseback and hunting rifles ambushed a group of Mexican migrant workers crossing the border. One of the survivors, 20 year old Miguel Angel Palofox Aguerrin of Guasave, Sinaloa managed to crawl back to Mexico with half of his face torn from his skull. He informed Mexican authorities that four of his friends may have been killed. No bodies were ever recovered from this arid part of the Arizona desert.
The situation had been relatively calm along the US/Mexico border, but recently anti-Mexican hate groups in the US have been escalating their poisonous anti-immigrant rhetoric. Among these xenophobes are Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado, Jewish Defense League member Glenn Spencer of American Border Patrol and the Arizona vigilante rancher Roger Barnett. All three have ties. Spencer and Barnett meet regularly to plan actions against Mexicans. By and large these xenophobes are largely responsible for inflaming anti-Mexican hate in the USA.
Due to escalating "hate crimes" against Mexican, Latino and other immigrants in the USA, it is advised that families take extra precautions while outdoors. Also, preparations should be made in case the situation gets out of hand. Male family members should be prepared in case a defense of the community becomes necessary.
along the U.S./Mexico border. The assault rifle he
is carrying uses the .223 ammuniton
used by the "Beltway Sniper." Barnett was interviewed by US News and World Report magazine.
