Another Successful Highway Clean up Day

Led by Gadget Dan, Campo Minutemen collected a record 14 orange bags of trash, much of it dropped by illegal border crossers.

Common trash items include lighters, "border booties" shirts, condom wrappers, and trail markers - usually plastic bags tied in bushes or trees. Food and water packages with Spanish writing are common. Spanish language soda bottles are often refilled with water.

The Campo Minutemen returned to the 7 3/4 mile marker on Buckman Springs where evidence of well used trails was recently discovered by GSB America. There appeared to have been a group which crossed very recently, as papers and food from a fresh picnic were found along with fresh foot prints.

Two pairs of ripped jeans were also fond. Jeans are frequently torn and refashioned to carry personal items or drugs.

12/29/07 Camp Minutemen Highway Clean up

Campo Minutemen Highway Clean up

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Date: Saturday, December 29, 2007

Time 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon

Location: Oak and Buckman Springs Road, Campo, CA

Lunch: Noon, Campo Diner

Point of Contact: 949-677-2738

Last outing, we sent a record for most pounds of trash picked up in one day!

Provided: Reflector Vests and Trash Tongs

Bring: Gloves, Warm Jacket Comfortable Shoes

Merry Christmas fromThe Campo Minutemen

Border Patrol Speaks Out Against Violence Against Agents

Letter to the Editor of San Diego Union Tribune Newspaper


http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20071222/news_lz1e22letters.html

Fraternal Order of Retired Border Patrol Officers Newsletter Chief Fisher's Letter to the Editor of San Diego Union Tribune Newspaper "The deliberate, unmitigated violence against my agents is going to stop." With these few words, I directed my command staff to find a way to make this directive become reality and to establish a new way of doing business. Today, we stand resolute and committed to this objective. Many of you may be aware of our operational deployments along the border with Mexico as the increase of violence against Border Patrol Agents continues at unprecedented levels. Last year, one out of every four assaults against agents along the 2,000 miles of border with Mexico occurred in San Diego . Not only is this trend continuing, but it is dramatically increasing; since October 2007 we have recorded over 100 assaults thus far. Nearly twice a day, the men and women of the San Diego Sector Border Patrol, who have unselfishly taken an oath to protect this great Nation, are subjected to violent assaults from criminals operating in Mexico . These assaults include smugglers throwing large rocks at the agents (at times after the rocks have been wrapped in cloth, doused in kerosene and lit on fire), launching glass bottles, large pieces of wood, steel ball bearings fired from sling shots, to name a few. To those who would argue that this violence is perpetrated by juvenile delinquents and that we should expect this as a "cost of doing business", I offer the following: criminal organizations (alien smugglers and drug smugglers) are hiring known criminals to cross into the United States illegally, create a diversion, and lure our agents into an ambush. When our agents respond, the criminals use military style tactics and "triangulate" their offensive, pinning down the agents in a violent assault. While the agents seek cover, the smugglers move people and contraband over the fence into our neighborhoods. In response to this criminal activity, I have deployed the Special Response Team to these dangerous border areas. Border Patrol Agents are authorized to deploy less-lethal munitions as necessary to protect and defend themselves and other agents against life-threatening assaults being perpetrated by criminals in Mexico . We will continue to use reasonable force in self-defense as necessary to protect our front-line agents from imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm. My primary responsibility as the Chief Patrol Agent in San Diego is to the border security mission and to ensure, to the extent that I can within the law and consistent with agency policy, a safe and secure border for our men and women. To do less would be at the very least irresponsible and at worst, malfeasance. We will not relinquish ground under operational control nor will we retreat from our front-line deployments; the threat is real, our border security mission critical, and failure is clearly not an option. Michael J. Fisher Chief Patrol Agent United States Border Patrol San Diego Sector

Home

Attacks on US Border Patrol Agents in San Diego, CA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD6cN14Xq1k

Photos Released Of Attacks On Border Patrol Agents

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=76698

SAN DIEGO, CA (NBC) -- The U.S. Border Patrol has released photos of attacks on agents that they say have led to the use of pepper spray and tear gas in Mexican border neighborhoods.

Officials said that escalating violence at the U.S.-Mexico border is forcing agents to take new measures, and the new tactics are creating controversy.

Since October 1, there have been 90 assaults against Border Patrol agents in the San Diego area, according to officials.

The violence is most common just east of the San Ysidro port of entry along a 2-mile stretch of border, in an area called Colonia Libertad.

"It is a scary situation," said Damon Foreman of the Border Patrol. "It's an area that has a tradition and a history for being a smuggling type of neighborhood."

The area is one of most densely populated neighborhoods pushing up against the border.

Several U.S. Border Patrol agents have reported rock-throwing incidents in the area.

"The windshields are being busted. They're going through the windshield and actually hitting our agents and actually harming them," Foreman said.

In response, the Border Patrol called in special response teams equipped to shoot pepper spray across the border, but human rights activists say the suspected smugglers and rock throwers aren't the only ones being targeted.

"We're getting reports from residents in Tijuana that canisters are being fired by border patrol agents into folks? homes in Tijuana," said Christian Ramirez of the American Friends Service Committee.

Agents admit they cannot direct the pepper spray with 100 percent accuracy.

In the end, immigrant rights activists say this may just be a symptom of a much bigger problem.

"Border Patrol agents shouldn't be placed in danger. Residents in Tijuana shouldn't have canisters sent into their homes. I think if we were to have a sensible immigration policy that many of these things could be avoided," Ramirez said.

The Mexican Consulate said the Mexican government is aware there is a problem and has met with the Border Patrol to find a way to resolve these issues.

"Hit gone bad"; Mexican gang fails to kill border patrol agent, family

"Hit gone bad"; Mexican gang fails to kill border patrol agent, family

MARY BUSTAMANTE
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/breakingnews/71167.php

In what inside police sources describe as a “hit gone bad, ” a dead man found on the South Side has been connected to the armed invasion of the home of an off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent and his family.

Tucson police Sgt. Fabian Pacheco said investigators have determined that Christian Gomez, 20, who had been shot to death, was one of the suspects in the invasion, which occurred at 4:50 a.m. Dec. 9. His body was found almost five hours later in a desert area south of Irvington Road and First Avenue , Pacheco said.

A Border Patrol agent, whom police would not identify, said four armed intruders forced their way into his home and one fired a gun at him as the agent retreated.

The agent then got his duty weapon and "returned fire as the suspects fled the area in a Kia (sport utility vehicle)," Pacheco said. He added that the agent, who immediately called 911, didn't know whether he hit any of the intruders.

“We are under attack,” the agent said. “Our families have been targeted by Ms-13and other violent gangs.”

About two and a half hours later, a police officer saw smoke near Campbell Avenue and Virginia Street , just north of Drexel Road . A Kia SUV was "fully engulfed in flames," Pacheco said, adding that bullet holes were found in it after the fire was put out. Police suspected it was the vehicle in the home invasion.

Subsequently, detectives identified and arrested Mark A. Escobar Jr., who they believe to have been the driver, Pacheco said.

He is being held in the Pima County Jail on $500,000 bond on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, arson of an occupied structure, armed robbery and aggravated robbery.

Detectives still are looking for additional suspects. Inside police sources reveal a growing anger amongst the rank and file, who believe that local government open border policy, and a “hands off” approach to illegals, has significantly increased their danger.

“We all know what happened to Officer Nick Erfle up in Phoenix .” Last month Officer Nick Erfle, a father of three, was knocked to the ground and shot three times in the face, by a Mexican Illegal who had been deported the month before.

The Border Patrol is doing an administrative investigation of the agent's use of force, said Public Information Officer Jesus Rodriguez. He said it is policy for the agency to investigate any agent-involved shooting, on or off duty.

He said he doesn't expect a report for a week or more.

The home invasion is being investigated by the Tucson Police Department, which asks anyone with information to call 911 or 88-CRIME.

Mexico police chief murder linked to border tunnel

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20071204-0953-mexico-drugs-.html

TIJUANA, Mexico – Gunmen killed the police chief of a Mexican city bordering California Tuesday by shooting him some 50 times in an apparent revenge attack after police found a drug-smuggling tunnel under the border.

Gunmen broke into the house of Tecate police chief Juan Soriano in the early hours of the morning and shot him repeatedly in the face and torso as he slept in bed with his wife, an official at the Baja California state attorney general's office told Reuters. His wife was not hit.

The killing of Soriano, who had started his job only last week, appeared to be an act of revenge against Mexican police, who Monday discovered a tunnel nearly a mile long running into California from Tecate near the Pacific coast after a tip-off from the U.S. Border Patrol.

“As soon as Soriano made public the discovery of the tunnel, he went home and hours later, they executed him in his bedroom,” said the official, who requested anonymity.

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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20071204-1205-bn04tecate.html

Police later found two abandoned pickups – a Toyota Tundra and a Ford F-150 Lobo – suspected of having been used by the killers. Inside, officers found discarded gloves and hooded sweatshirts, along with other undisclosed items being examined by investigators.

The Tundra bore California license plates, while the Ford had no plates, Alvarez said.

Campo Minutemen prepare to be extra vigilant.

Suspected drug tunnel found near Tecate

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-mew-tunnel4dec04,0,5931589.story?coll=la-home-center

(Tacate is just East of Campo - Indy)

SAN DIEGO -- Federal authorities discovered a suspected cross-border drug tunnel in Tecate this morning after a U.S. Border Patrol canine unit followed the scent of drugs to a compound of trailers north of the border, authorities said.

An agent entered a cargo-like container and saw a man with a gun in his waistband disappearing into a hole. Inside the container were thousands of pounds of what is believed to be marijuana, said James Jacques, a Border Patrol spokesman.

The site is in a rural area 40 miles east of San Diego, and the tunnel's north entrance is about a quarter-mile from the Tecate Port of Entry, which would make it one of the longest tunnels discovered in recent years along the border. It has concrete and wood supports -- telltale signs of a sophisticated drug-smuggling operation, according to a federal law enforcement source.

Bundles of drugs also were found in a nearby trailer, suggesting that the stash was apparently in the process of being transferred for shipment. Mexican authorities are said to be searching for the tunnel entry point in the Mexican town of Tecate. Authorities don't yet know how long the tunnel was operational.

richard.marosi@latimes.com

Body of border crosser found south of San Diego

Otay Mesa - you can see the well worn foot trails used by the Illegal Border Crossers




Litter - 5 broken disposable lighter, 5 combs and 5 toothbrushes. Also found was a knapsack with with jeans, shirts and a quart of orange liqueur.


Tijuana -

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_7554770?nclick_check=1


Body of border crosser found south of San Diego

The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO—The body of a suspected border crosser who has been missing for nearly two months was found in the Otay Mountain wilderness.

Natalio Rico Gomez, 34, of Monterrey, Mexico, was discovered Saturday about 2 p.m. by a nonprofit organization that organizes search teams to look for missing immigrants.

Gomez, who was a diabetic, may have suffered a heart attack. He apparently did not have his medicine with him when he tried to cross the border on Oct. 1, said Rafael Hernandez, who heads of Angels of the Desert.

Gomez was headed to San Marcos to look for work.

It was the first time that Gomez, who delivered newspapers for El Norte in Monterrey, had tried to cross the border, said the victim's brother-in-law Isaias Palomeque.

Border crossers who had been in the area earlier discovered the body and called Gomez's relatives in Mexico after finding identification in his wallet, Hernandez said. The relatives then contacted Angels of the Desert to ask for help in locating and retrieving the body.

Campo Minutemen - briefly - in the news

http://www.ocregister.com/news/thompson-presidential-woods-1933239-know-rally

Saturday, December 1, 2007
Thompson appeals to his base in Laguna Woods
Presidential candidate Fred Thompson visits Orange County for a rally and speech, and gives the Register a one-on-one interview.
By RICHARD CHANG
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Comments 2 | Recommend 5

Lynn Schott of Irvine walked into a Laguna Woods clubhouse Saturday morning not really sure who she'd vote for in the February presidential primary.

She walked out confident about her pick: Fred Thompson.

"I was really on the fence before," said the 45-year-old home school educator. "I came here to get more information. The combination of listening to the debate the other night and coming here to the rally and seeing him up close… really put me over into his camp."

Republican presidential candidate Thompson dropped by Laguna Woods Saturday to speak to about 400 residents and folks curious about the former senator and star of "Law & Order." Though he's lagging in the polls, Thompson, 65, drew a receptive audience in a region that has voted majority Republican in presidential elections for the last several decades.

"I've been looking for some good Republicans. Do you know where I can find any?" he said to whoops and cheers.

"I have been the same thing that I've always been. I've been a proud, common-sense conservative since the day I first stepped into politics. …What you see is what you get and it will not change."

In front of about 40 pre-selected supporters onstage, Thompson talked about maintaining national security, fighting against radical Islam, securing U.S. borders, lowering taxes and eliminating the estate or "death tax."

"You've lived long enough to see things come and go," he said to the audience of mostly seniors. "You know the difference between the real and the unreal. You know that it is our obligation to leave this place better."

Laguna Woods residents Perry King and his wife Nancy were impressed.

"I'm a conservative," said Perry King, 69. "I stand for the things he's saying."

"I like him because he hasn't been a career politician," said his wife, 64, a college professor. "He's very charismatic. That's the thing I didn't anticipate."

Other speakers at the rally included State Sen. Tom McClintock, Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, former State Sen. Dick Mountjoy and former KFI radio talk show host John Ziegler.

Before the rally, a small group of protesters held signs and American flags on the corner outside the clubhouse gate. The group called itself "Campo Minutemen" and said it opposes illegal immigration.

Contact the writer: 714-796-6026 or rchang@ocregister.com