Deadly Force, Deaths Up at US Border
 AFP
| | Pedestrians head through turnstiles on the US and Mexican border. The number of Mexicans shot while trying to enter the United States have increased and the weapons are deadlier, the National Human Rights Commission has said. "Official inattention or indifference to this problem, in the United States or in Mexico, favors impunity among individuals, anti-immigrant groups and government officials," the rights ombudsman said. (AFP/Sandy Huffaker) |
The number of Mexicans shot while trying to enter the United States have increased and the weapons are deadlier, the National Human Rights Commission has said.
"Official inattention or indifference to this problem, in the United States or in Mexico, favors impunity among individuals, anti-immigrant groups and government officials," the rights ombudsman said.
The commission said the use of deadly weapons, such as expanding bullets, also known as dum-dum bullets, has increased.
"Instances of intentional use of lethal force against immigrants has been documented," the commission said in a statement.
Recent cases include Francisco Javier Dominguez, who was shot January 13 and his body returned to Mexico on Sunday; and Marcos Saul Torres and Jaime Quintanilla, who were wounded by gunshots on January 10, according to the statement.
The ombudsman also pointed out that the case of Guillermo Martinez, who was killed in December 2005, has not been clarified, even though, the report says, "in California, US immigration officials shot him with expanding bullets."
The commission asked that the Mexican government follow up US authorities' investigations and "that border guards not be sent into the field without sufficient training." |
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News from Around the Americas | January 2007 
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