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http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20030118-9999_7m18border.html
Mexican troops stray over border
By Dwight Daniels
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 18, 2003
A detachment of Mexican soldiers wearing black ski masks and carrying automatic rifles was confronted by U.S. Border Patrol agents Thursday after the Mexicans strayed into U.S territory.
The Mexicans left the area without the encounter escalating into violence or a diplomatic furor after a soldier told the agents that his unit was part of a special drug-interdiction team, U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Ben Bauman said.
The Mexicans were first encountered about dusk Thursday near Tecate in an area known to be frequented by drug traffickers.
An agent had become suspicious of potential illegal activity when he spotted boot tracks some 30 feet into U.S. territory near a barbed-wire fence marking the border, Bauman said.
The agent followed the tracks until he spotted about a dozen uniformed men with rifles taking cover in a brushy area just across the border in Mexico.
When other agents arrived, the Americans confronted the Mexicans, who told the agents that the unit was part of a drug-interdiction team of the Mexican army, Bauman said.
Agents pointed out that the soldiers' footprints indicated they had been in the United States.
The Border Patrol agents reported what had occurred when they returned to headquarters.
Officials contacted Mexican authorities and confirmed that the soldiers encountered were indeed part of a special army unit, according to Bauman.
"The whole situation illustrates the potential for danger on the border," Bauman said.
Mexican troops stray over border
By Dwight Daniels
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 18, 2003
A detachment of Mexican soldiers wearing black ski masks and carrying automatic rifles was confronted by U.S. Border Patrol agents Thursday after the Mexicans strayed into U.S territory.
The Mexicans left the area without the encounter escalating into violence or a diplomatic furor after a soldier told the agents that his unit was part of a special drug-interdiction team, U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Ben Bauman said.
The Mexicans were first encountered about dusk Thursday near Tecate in an area known to be frequented by drug traffickers.
An agent had become suspicious of potential illegal activity when he spotted boot tracks some 30 feet into U.S. territory near a barbed-wire fence marking the border, Bauman said.
The agent followed the tracks until he spotted about a dozen uniformed men with rifles taking cover in a brushy area just across the border in Mexico.
When other agents arrived, the Americans confronted the Mexicans, who told the agents that the unit was part of a drug-interdiction team of the Mexican army, Bauman said.
Agents pointed out that the soldiers' footprints indicated they had been in the United States.
The Border Patrol agents reported what had occurred when they returned to headquarters.
Officials contacted Mexican authorities and confirmed that the soldiers encountered were indeed part of a special army unit, according to Bauman.
"The whole situation illustrates the potential for danger on the border," Bauman said.
