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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | January 2007 
Mexican President Condemns Fatal Shooting of Immigrant
 Arizona Daily Star
| | During a news conference Calderon expressed his "most energetic protest" against the shooting, and said that the Mexican government has demanded a full investigation. (AP) |
Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Sunday condemned the shooting death of a Mexican immigrant in Arizona by an agent with the U.S. Border Patrol.
Francisco Javier Dominguez-Rivera, 22, of Puebla, Mexico, was killed Friday in a confrontation with the unidentified agent. The Border Patrol in Tucson has said little about the incident, except that the agent thought his life was in danger.
During a news conference at his presidential residence in Mexico City, Calderon expressed his "most energetic protest" against the shooting, and said that the Mexican government has demanded a full investigation.
The incident occurred just north of the U.S.-Mexico border between Bisbee and Douglas, said Carol Capas, Cochise County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.
The agent was responding to a call about a group of seven people who were crossing the desert, said Rob Daniels, a Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman.
Upon arrival, the agent took six of the seven people into custody without incident but then started fighting with Dominguez-Rivera. The agent shot and killed the man, Daniels said.
The agent has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the case.
The Cochise County Sheriff's Office was conducting interviews this weekend about the shooting. The Dominguez-Rivera autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.
Mexico's Foreign Relations Department has joined Calderon in condemning the shooting.
"The department expresses its profound concern over this kind of disproportionate violence that results in the loss of human lives, above all when force is used against people who do not represent a threat to United States authorities," the department said in a news release.
Friday's incident is the first agent-related shooting of fiscal year 2007, which started Oct. 1, Daniels said. The agency doesn't release the number of such shootings. The last time an agent shot and killed someone in Cochise County was June 4, 2003, near the Douglas Port of Entry.
That shooting was rare in that it happened during an attempted apprehension. Most illegal entrants follow agents' orders, Border Patrol spokesman Rodriguez said.
"Most of the incidents that happen like this usually happen when someone tries to elude us when they have a criminal history or are fleeing Mexican authorities," Rodriguez said.
During his Sunday news conference, Calderon also defended his decision to fight crime with the military and insisted that Mexico has experienced "more peace and certainty" during his first 45 days in office.
Calderon also said his administration has taken steps to tackle poverty and generate jobs aimed at stemming the continual tide of Mexican migrants seeking work in the United States.
"We have acted with decisiveness and energy to respond to the most urgent demands of the people: public safety, combating poverty and generating employment," Calderon said.
Calderon is trying to win over the millions who voted for leftist opponent Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in the July 2 election. |
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