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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | January 2007 
Relatives Bury Mexican Migrant Shot by Border Patrol in Arizona
 Associated Press
| | Workers unload a box containing the body of Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera, an illegal Mexican immigrant, after arriving to his hometown in Cuautla, in the southern Mexican state of Morelos, January 21, 2007. Dominguez was killed in a confrontation with Border Patrol agents when he was caught crossing into Arizona with six other illegal immigrants, including two of his brothers. (Reuters) |
Cuatla, Mexico – About 100 friends and relatives attended a funeral on Monday of a Mexican migrant who was shot to death Jan. 12 by a U.S. border patrol agent in Arizona.
Scattering white flowers in the graveyard, the mourners carried the of coffin Francisco Javier Dominguez Rivera, 22, through streets of a working class neighborhood in Cuautla, a city about 40 kms (25 miles) south of Mexico City, in central Mexico.
The body had been received by his relatives at the Mexico City airport after his casket was from the United States on Sunday.
“If there is any justice, let's hope it is applied,” Renato Dominguez, the victim's father, told reporters at the family's home, where they gray cloth-covered casket lay in the living room, wreathed in incense, beneath a cross.
His son's death “is an ugly thing, I wouldn't wish it on anybody,” he said.
Relatives have called for the agent involved to be punished, and last week, the Mexican government sent a diplomatic note to the United States stating its “firm condemnation” and “serious concern over the recurrence of this type of incident.” The note demanded an exhaustive investigation.
Dominguez Rivera was killed in a confrontation with an unidentified Border Patrol agent just north of the U.S.-Mexico border between Bisbee and Douglas, Arizona, after the agent responded to a call about a group of seven people crossing the desert.
The agent took six of the seven people – apparently including the victim's brothers – into custody without incident, but then started fighting with Dominguez Rivera. The agent, who thought his life was in danger, shot and killed him, the Border Patrol said.
The agent was put on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the case. The FBI has said it is investigating the death. |
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