The San Ysidro Port of Entry, the border crossing which allows people from San Diego to cross into Tijuana and vice-versa, was closed for the first time since the assassination of JFK in 1963. This was due to a shooting incident that occurred when US border agents tried to stop suspected smugglers from speeding through the crossing by firing at three vans thought to be full of illegal immigrants:
The Los Angeles Times article says that smugglers occasionally try to run the border crossing, but I question the wisdom of that since there aren't a lot of avenues for escape and such vehicles would be easy to track and apprehend.Three people in the vans suffered injuries and a person in a nearby car also was wounded in the unusually brazen smuggling attempt, U.S. authorities said. More than 70 people inside the vans were arrested.
Northbound traffic at the checkpoint, where about 40,000 cars cross daily from Mexico, was backed up into Tijuana for miles as San Diego police investigated. The secondary inspection area filled with potential witnesses from cars in the lanes near the shooting. By evening, the lanes approaching the crossing had been mostly cleared of traffic.
What concerns me about this is that it is yet another sign of the lawlessness in Mexico — fueled by America's insatiable appetite for drugs — is creeping into American territory.
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Well, word has it that there is a bill in Mexico that allows people to have marijuana and heroin in their pockets and not get arrested. I think that the final vote is December.
ReplyDeleteThe Mexican side of the border there is to be given to the US while the Mexicans make their own entry as they will start checking people who go into Mexico. They will search for weapons going into Mexico.
I find it hard to see how they were speeding when there is very little room to move around and those spikes in the road.
Ah, you mean this story:
ReplyDeleteUnder the new rules there will be no action taken against those carrying up to a half-gramme of cocaine, 40 grammes of marijuana or 50 milligrammes of heroin.
Limits are set for other drugs, including LSD and methamphetamine. People found in possession of these small amounts will be encouraged to attend a drug treatment programme.
Interesting. I wonder what effect, if any, this will have on the ongoing violence or drug consumption in the US. Will Americans go to Tijuana to legally consume?
What do you mean about the Mexican side of the border being given to the US? Do you mean the US will administer the Mexican side of San Ysidro?
As for the prospect these folks were speeding? I think that when they were at the end, where they're inspected the three vehicles gunned their engines to try to manage an "escape," trying to squeeze through what little room there is.
I haven't been through the border at San Ysidro in years, but I don't recall there being a lot of room there to maneuver. I think these guys have been watching too many movies.
When you enter Mexico from San Ysidro, it is a multi-lane entryway.Most of the time people continue on into Mexico. That area is to be given to the US so the entry into the US will consist of the current one and the area that the Mexican border controls. Both areas will be an entry point into the US. The Mexicans are making a brand new entry point because they plan to do more searches for guns.
ReplyDeleteMy parents moved to Rosarito Beach in 2007. They let me know what's going on in that area. There is a strong expat community and my parents go to a bunch of the meetings. One of their neighbors is the mayor of Rosarito Beach and he attends the meetings or someone in his administration does. They administration deals with the expats a lot. Not like in Korea.
The Mexicans are worried about guns coming in. And allowing drugs to be bought? That is a dangerous mixture.
That border station is one of the busiest in the world. And it will become larger.
I will ask my parents about the shooting. They will hear the Mexican side of the story. If I hear anything interesting I'll write about it.
It will give Spring break a brand new meaning!