Mexican Military Incursions On US Soil Worry Border Agents

 

Just before 8:30 a.m. Jan. 26, two figures dressed in camouflage and carrying military assault rifles crossed an international border, making their way on foot through the quiet desert terrain, unaware that they were under the constant watch of authorities in the country they had just entered.

Within minutes a border patrol agent confronted the two men. Weapons were drawn. Asked for identification, the two men provided their names — which didn't correspond with the names on their uniforms. After a brief, tense standoff, the two men retreated back across the border just as reinforcements were arriving.

...The armed incursion occurred on United States soil, outside Sasabe, Ariz., just north of the U.S.–Mexico border. Drug dealers and migrants use a large wildlife preserve to the east and the empty desert to the west of Sasabe as trafficking corridors.

Both Mexican and U.S. border agents have crossed over the border in this area, pursuing suspects. But according to officials familiar with the situation, border crossings by members of either military are rare. In a January letter to the head of Customs and Border Protection about the incident, Sen. Tom Coburn asked if the agency has "concerns that some members of the Mexican Military could be providing security and/or intelligence to Drug Trafficking Organizations." The Sinaloa Cartel, widely considered one of the world's most powerful drug syndicates, operates along the Sasabe stretch of the border...more

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But who were they, really?

Olaya said the two men identified themselves as members of the Mexican military's 80th Battalion. But the names they gave didn't match the names on their uniforms. Additionally, the men informed Olaya "that they had been pursing [sic] three subjects that were seen in the area." The incident report does not indicate that the video surveillance system had seen any other individuals in the area.

By this time, according to the incident report, officials at the border patrol were trying to contact Mexican military officials. "At approximately 0926 Supervisory Border Patrol Agent (SBPA) George Serrano … was contacted and apprised of the situation. SBPA Serrano attempted to make contact with the headquarters of SEDENA 45th Military Zone," which covers the area around Sasabe. "A voice message was left at the office," the incident report says.

Two minutes later, "both Mexican Military personnel turned southbound after they saw other [Border Patrol] units westbound toward BPA Olaya." Within seven minutes, the two men had crossed back into Mexico.