Incursions at US-Mexico Border Create Tension

by Jim Kouri, CPP

November 26, 2006 11:00 PM EST

Customs and Border Protection Bureau officials conceded that Border Patrol agents crossed into Mexico while pursuing drug smugglers, but they also said the incursion was only about 27 feet and the agents acted while in hot pursuit of armed drug traffickers.

Law enforcement officials this writer spoke with say they are appalled at outrage expressed by the Mexican government and some lawmakers on Capitol Hill over the incident.

"The agents were following their adrenaline and dealing with a tense situation following a drug trafficking attempt," Border Patrol spokesman Doug Mosier told AP.

"We've always had a very good working relationship with Mexico. We're perplexed."

The incident has caused many to call the Mexican government hypocritical since Mexican police and soldiers have entered the US on several occasions. Mexican officials characterized US border agents chasing suspects "a breach of Mexican sovereignty." They said that the Mexican federal police have started a full investigation into this one incident.