American shot while jet skiing on Falcon Lake

[peejay 327]

American shot while jet skiing on Falcon Lake

By Lynn Brezosky - Express-News Web Posted: 09/30/2010 6:28 CDT

BROWNSVILLE — Gunmen presumed to be Mexican drug operatives opened fire today on a couple riding water skis on the binational Falcon Lake reservoir, possibly killing the husband and sending the woman fleeing frantically to the U.S. side.

Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez said the couple — believed to be from McAllen — had crossed to the Mexican side when they came under a spray of bullets by two boatloads of men. The man, 30, was shot in the head and his wife said she fears he is dead.

“They saw them approaching and started revving it up back to the U.S. side,” Gonzalez told the Associated Press. “The guys just started shooting at them from behind.”

According to unconfirmed reports, the woman circled back to get her husband but the gunmen continued shooting, even after she crossed back to the U.S. side.

Gonzalez said he had contacted the Mexican consulate for help finding the husband. As of late Thursday afternoon, he was tracing down leads with the FBI, said Mary Pulido, a dispatcher fielding a barrage of press calls.

“I do know that it happened on the Mexican side, that's what's making the investigation very difficult,” she said.

The shooting follows reports in May that boaters in the famed bass fishing oasis were at risk of being shaken down by “pirates” lurking on the Mexican side.

The 60-mile long Rio Grande reservoir is shared by the United States and Mexico, and due to its location along sparsely populated Starr and Zapata counties is believed to be a favorite location for trafficking drugs.

Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, who along with state Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, recently traveled to the area for a briefing by the Texas Department of Public Safety on Falcon Lake dangers said that any gunfire that took place on the U.S. side of the lake — in some places demarcated by floating markers — would represent a serious step over the line for a drug war that's “getting out of hand.”

“These guys are getting very aggressive,” he said. “It's a significant incident, but it has international ramifications if the shots continued into our side. This was just a couple of people having a good time.”

Peña, as chair of the emergency preparedness committee, said the incident strengthened his resolve to fight budget cuts for DPS, who along with Border Patrol agents patrol the lake.

“They're essentially the Texas marine force,” he said. “We need them to protect our citizens and keep our lakes safe.”

Thursday's reported shooting comes during what may be the most deadly and prolonged streak of Mexican drug cartel violence in memory.

In May, the Texas Department of Public Safety reported several incidents of pirates shaking down U.S. boaters. The robbers in at least one case posed as Mexican federal law enforcement, searching fishing boats for guns and drugs and then demanding cash at gunpoint.

The DPS issued a statement warning people not to cross to the Mexican side of the lake. Boaters were encouraged to file a float plan with family members.

“The robbers are believed to be members of a drug trafficking organization or members of an enforcer group linked to a drug trafficking organization who are...using AK-47s or AR-15 rifles to threaten their victims,” it said. “They appear to be using local Mexican fishermen to operate the boats to get close to American fishermen.”

The warning came as the county of Zapata geared up for a summer of fishing tournaments, prompting the chamber of commerce to say that the warning was drastic and that people were safe if they stayed in U.S. waters.

Falcon Lake was formed by a dam in 1953 to conserve water for agriculture and control downstream flooding.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/american_shot_while_jet_skiing_on_falcon_lake_104116729.html

[TBoneTX 37,229]

Great article, as are nearly all by Lynn Brezosky of the San Antonio Express-News. That newspaper has the best coverage by far of border issues, approached only by the Brownsville-Harlingen-McAllen newspapers.

The problem, as the article makes plain, is that the couple crossed or strayed into the Mexican side. Americans aren't targeted very much at all by the bad guys (in fact, so rarely that any such reports really stick out). However, putting one's self in a visible, isolated position like that can draw unwanted attention from whomever, whether it be smuggle-druggers, bored juvenile delinquents, or others. It sounds as though it was the drug guys, this time.

CBP recently issued a clarified ruling regarding boating down the Rio Grande: no USC is permitted to land on the Mexican side unless it's a true emergency or mechanical disability. This has upset many tour agencies and recreational kayaking outfits, but that's the situation today.

What a shame that some baddies -- not insignificant in number or actions but overly magnified in both by the hysterical U.S. media -- have scared Americans away from what can still be very enjoyable experiences in most of the Mexican border cities and areas.