Thursday, February 08, 2007
Border guards and van drivers
While my power steering fluid was dripping out yesterday (I didn't know it), I was driving along and listening to someone report that the border guard who was sentenced to a minimum security prison but sent to a medium security instead and placed in the general population where he was badly beaten by other prisoners. And now it has come out that the government may have lied at their trial. If Bush doesn't shape up on border protection for us, he's going to lose his support from conservatives for his plan to help Iraqis protect their borders.
"In the high-profile case of two U.S. Border Patrol officers imprisoned after shooting and wounding a Mexican drug smuggler, two Department of Homeland Security documents apparently contradict the version of events put forth by the U.S. attorney who successfully prosecuted the case.
The internal Department of Homeland Security memoranda – which have been denied Congress despite repeated requests by two House members – show that within one month of the shooting incident involving Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, government investigators had identified the smuggler as Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila.
But this seems to contradict U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton's claim that Aldrete-Davila came forward through a Mexican lawyer who offered to identify his client in exchange for immunity." Jan. 31 report. Update here
Then reaching back a few years, I thought I'd check on the "Mexican national" as he was called then in the MSM news reports, who alledgely let his 23 sick and elderly passengers die when he abandoned his van accident during the Rita hurricane. Apparently, the transportation company has had to pay (as it should) a few million in damages and shape up their falsified log sheets for drivers (they're still in business?). Juan Robles Gutierrez was an illegal alien with no driver's license. Not sure what happened to him, but looks like both the U.S. and Mexico were looking out for his civil rights. If it's like the border patrol agent case, he probably got immunity for testifying against the van company and a green card.
It's too discouraging to even track him down on the internet. Sort of like losing the power steering fluid.
"In the high-profile case of two U.S. Border Patrol officers imprisoned after shooting and wounding a Mexican drug smuggler, two Department of Homeland Security documents apparently contradict the version of events put forth by the U.S. attorney who successfully prosecuted the case.
The internal Department of Homeland Security memoranda – which have been denied Congress despite repeated requests by two House members – show that within one month of the shooting incident involving Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, government investigators had identified the smuggler as Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila.
But this seems to contradict U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton's claim that Aldrete-Davila came forward through a Mexican lawyer who offered to identify his client in exchange for immunity." Jan. 31 report. Update here
Then reaching back a few years, I thought I'd check on the "Mexican national" as he was called then in the MSM news reports, who alledgely let his 23 sick and elderly passengers die when he abandoned his van accident during the Rita hurricane. Apparently, the transportation company has had to pay (as it should) a few million in damages and shape up their falsified log sheets for drivers (they're still in business?). Juan Robles Gutierrez was an illegal alien with no driver's license. Not sure what happened to him, but looks like both the U.S. and Mexico were looking out for his civil rights. If it's like the border patrol agent case, he probably got immunity for testifying against the van company and a green card.
It's too discouraging to even track him down on the internet. Sort of like losing the power steering fluid.
# posted by Norma : 2/08/2007 09:10:00 AM
