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Border Strife Escalating in Tijuana

Neighborhood residents complain about US agents' tactics

By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 14, 2007 4:18 PM CST

(Newser) – Areas of Tijuana that abut the American border have turned into battlegrounds, as Mexican smugglers lob rocks from rooftops at US Border Patrol agents, who have begun retaliating by firing pepper spray and tear gas into densely populated neighborhoods, the Los Angeles Times reports. The tactics have caused evacuations and sent both residents and agents to the hospital.

The Border Patrol used to launch pepper spray only at smugglers, but agents stepped up use of force when smugglers in makeshift cardboard armor became seemingly impervious to pepper balls. The more aggressive approach angers many. Mexico "cannot tolerate having Mexican nationals hit with these kind of devices on Mexican soil by U.S. authorities," one official said.

A U.S. Border Patrol vehicle is seen parked in the background through a repaired section of the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Tijuana, Mexico, Friday, June 29, 2007. Opinion makers and migrant advocates in Mexico said that the collapse of U.S. immigration reform plans in the Senate...
A U.S. Border Patrol vehicle is seen parked in the background through a repaired section of the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Tijuana, Mexico, Friday, June 29, 2007. Opinion makers and migrant advocates...   (Associated Press)
Pedro Sanchez, 43, a migrant from the Mexican state of Durango, gestures at a U.S. Border Patrol agent across the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Tijuana, Mexico, Friday, June 29, 2007. Sanchez has been in Tijuana for three months trying to cross the border. Opinion makers and migrant...
Pedro Sanchez, 43, a migrant from the Mexican state of Durango, gestures at a U.S. Border Patrol agent across the U.S.-Mexico border fence in Tijuana, Mexico, Friday, June 29, 2007. Sanchez has been in...   (Associated Press)
Joggers stretch next to US-Mexico border fence in Tijuana, Mexico, Friday, June 29, 2007. The fence, which separates Tijuana from San Diego, extends into the Pacific Ocean. Opinion makers and migrant advocates in Mexico said that the collapse of U.S. immigration reform plans in the Senate hurts Mexican workers,...
Joggers stretch next to US-Mexico border fence in Tijuana, Mexico, Friday, June 29, 2007. The fence, which separates Tijuana from San Diego, extends into the Pacific Ocean. Opinion makers and migrant...   (Associated Press)
Mario Crespo, in silhouette and on the U.S. side of the border at right, visits with his wife Angelica Oliveros through the international border fence on Father's Day in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, June 17, 2007. Oliveros does not have a visa to enter the U.S. and Crespo is...
Mario Crespo, in silhouette and on the U.S. side of the border at right, visits with his wife Angelica Oliveros through the international border fence on Father's Day in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, June...   (Associated Press)
People visit friends and family through the international border fence on Father's Day in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, June 17, 2007. Many families visit at the fence when members cannot enter Mexico and others cannot enter the U.S. The Senate's top Republican said Sunday he could not predict whether stalled...
People visit friends and family through the international border fence on Father's Day in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, June 17, 2007. Many families visit at the fence when members cannot enter Mexico and...   (Associated Press)
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