Minuteman National Blog

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TIP-OFFS BY US GOVERNMENT TO MEXICAN OFFICIALS ON MINUTEMEN NOT LIMITED TO BORDER

(PHOENIX, AZ) May 10, 2006 – News reports detailing how the U.S. Border Patrol has been disclosing locations and background information of Minuteman activities along the border to Mexican officials have now broadened in scope. The reports obtained from the Mexican government include an August 2005 document, "Third Report on the Activities of Vigilantes" – posted on Mexico''s Secretary of Foreign Relations Web site – suggesting U.S. officials were giving out more details than plausibly required by the Vienna Convention. Part of that information included reports on activities in the interior of the United States in locations such as Illinois, Nevada, Utah, Massachusetts and Tennessee.

From the Mexican government website: http://www.sre.gob.mx/eventos/minuteman/reporte3.htm

In the new statement by the Border Patrol officially denying that any such cooperative activity with the Mexican government took place, they gave no explanation why the U.S. Border Patrol initially confirmed their own actions in the earlier report as a “cooperative agreement” with Mexico: “[Border Patrol Spokesman Mario] Martinez said Mexico''s official perception of the civilian groups is that they are vigilantes, a belief the Border Patrol hoped to allay by entering into the cooperative agreement.”

According to reports in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin today, the Chertoff aide who contacted Sara Carter, the reporter who broke this story yesterday, would not elaborate on the current Border Patrol statement to give any explanation of their earlier confirmation of the story.

From Sara Carter in today''s Inland Valley Daily Bulletin:

Officials disclaim Bulletin ''tipping'' report
http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_3803897

EXCERPT:

Scott James, a former Tucson agent, resigned after eight years of service in February, citing a lack of support for agents by the Department of Homeland Security.

He said that U.S. Border Patrol officials provided office space inside their headquarters to Mexican consulate officials, allowed the consulate to dictate the agents'' activities, and gave the consulate information on ongoing investigations.

Such courtesies were not extended to consulate offices of other countries, James said.

~END~

Chris Simcox, President of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, issued the following statement:

“The initial reports appear to be the tip of the iceberg. The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps has been warning people that our government has no intention of taking the necessary steps to secure our borders. It now appears that the U.S. government has proactively taken steps to ensure that the open border status quo is maintained. Even if we take the latest statement from the Border Patrol denying involvement as truth, at best the report on the Mexican consulate website exposes widespread espionage, and systematic spying against free and law-abiding American citizens, on the part of the Mexican government – with or without U.S. government assistance.”

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