Mexico formally protested use of tear gas [2] by the US Border Patrol, the Exterior Secretariat sending a letter to the US Embassy requesting a probe of an incident last month in which Cristian Saldana, 15, was struck in the nose by a gas canister after he reportedly threw stones at Border Patrol agents near Tijuana. "Launching tear gas does not contribute in any way to a climate of understanding and collaboration," an Exterior Secretariat statement said Jan. 31, calling the practice "unacceptable."
The Border Patrol says assaults on its agents reached a record 250 between Oct. 1 and Dec. 16. Mexican President Felipe Calderón, in turn, says US treatment of undocumented Mexican workers is "abusive" and amounts to persecution. (EFE [3], Reuters [4], Feb. 1)
See our last posts on Mexico [5], and the border struggle [6].
