Media Articles and Editorials

Austin Chronicle (Texas), December 25, 1998
Fatal Error: The Pentagon's War on Drugs Takes a Toll on the Innocent
by Monte Paulsen, National Editor of Alternative Media Inc.
NOTE: Previously published September 10, 1998 in the San Antonio Current as "DRUG WAR MASQUERADE."
Notable quote: "When Esequiel Hernandez Jr. died, he became the first civilian killed by U.S. troops since the student massacre at Kent State University in 1970. His death led to a temporary suspension of troop patrols near the U.S.-Mexican border. A nd last month, the government paid his family $1.9 million to settle a wrongful death claim.

... The war that Esequiel Hernandez wandered into is not confined to the U.S.-Mexican border. The Pentagon spends about $1 billion a ye ar fighting drugs. JTF-6 has conducted missions in 30 states and the Caribbean territories. An estimated 4,000 National Guard troops are involved in 1,300 counter-drug operations nationwide. And 89% of police departments now have paramilitary "SWAT" teams, which primarily serve drug warrants. In spite of all this, the drugs are winning. The availability and potency of hard drugs such as her oin and cocaine has skyrocketed over the past decade. At the same time, street prices have fallen. The United Nations estimates the annual revenue generated by the illegal drug industry at $400 billion. That's 8% of the total international trade, or about the same size as the global automobile industry.

Associated Press, May 22, 1998
Military authorized to return to border patrol duty
Notable quote: "The House voted Thursday to authorize enlisting the military to help patrol U.S. borders in the war against drug smuggling and illegal immigration. Opponents said the plan could turn the U.S.-Mexican border into an armed corridor."

Houston Chronicle, February 27, 1998
Lawyer rips decision on border shooting
Justice Dept. apparently won't probe teen death By THADDEUS HERRICK Houston Chronicle San Antonio Bureau
Notable quote: "'If an ordinary citizen were to kill an endangered species, the government would try to send him to prison,' said Bill Weinacht, a Pecos lawyer representing the family of Esequiel Hernandez. 'But when the government kills a good Mexican-American kid on the border, they let everyone walk away scot-free.'"

Houston Chronicle, February 26, 1998
Feds won't press charges in border shooting
Notable quote: "'The shooting death of Esequiel Hernandez remains troubling,' said Smith [Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio], who as chairman of the House immigration subcommittee has raised questions about the Border Patrol's role in the shooting. 'The public has a right to know who is responsible for this death. But no one is being held accountable.'"

Austin American Statesman (9/23/97)
More action needed in drug war
(A modest proposal to save America)

Houston Chronicle (9/11/97)
Probe of fatal border shooting is put on hold

Dallas Morning News (8/30/97)
FBI upgrades probe into border shooting
Full civil rights investigation planned in Marine's slaying of teen, agent says

Houston Chronicle (letter-to-editor, 8/27/97)
Military action no answer

Time Magazine (8/25/97)
BORDER SKIRMISH
A teen's death forces the military to question its role in fighting drugs

Corpus Christi Caller-Times (8/20/97)
Should the border be militarized?

Colorado Springs Gazette (8/20/97)
drug surveillance missions should be ended

Houston Chronicle (8/20/97)
Marines are trained to kill, not read people their rights

Dallas Morning News (8/16/97)
Civil rights reviewed in border case
Family of slain teen says justice not done

Waco Tribune-Herald (8/16/97)
Bad policy killed Zeke
Military shouldn't be used as border police force

Dallas Morning News (8/15/97)
Marine avoids indictment
Panel says he followed rules in border shooting

Houston Chronicle (8/15/97)
Marine is cleared in border shooting

Dallas Morning News (8/14/97)
Congressman says border slaying investigation being hindered
He calls Justice Department not cooperative in case involving teen shot by Marine

Associated Press (8/14/97)
Justice Department accused of stonewalling House panel

PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (transcript, 8/13/97)
Casualties of the Drug War

Associated Press (8/13/97)
3 Marines get immunity in border shooting case

Waco Tribune-Herald (letter-to-editor, 8/11/97)
Safe on border

San Diego Union Tribune (letters-to-editor, 8/7/97)
Two views of Marines on patrol at the border

San Jose Mercury News (8/4/97)
Killed... by the drug war

Waco Tribune-Herald (8/3/97)
Not on Border

Dallas Morning News (8/1/97)
Border troops: Decision to end military patrols is justified

New York Times (7/31/97)
Grand Jury to Examine Fatal Shooting of 18-Year-Old by Marine

Houston Chronicle (7/31/97)
Panel hears evidence in border case

USA Today (7/30/97)
Pentagon Pulls Troops Off Drug Patrols
Action Comes as Grand Jury Weighs Indictment of Marine

Washington Post (7/30/97)
Troops Pulled From Anti-Drug Patrols
Pentagon Action Rises Out of Killing of Border Resident by Marine

Houston Chronicle (7/30/97)
Pentagon ends patrol on border

Houston Chronicle (letter-to-editor, 7/26/97)
Marines survived teen

Houston Chronicle (7/24/97)
Attorney says Marine fired at border teen as `last resort'

Houston Chronicle (7/18/97)
Federal response satisfies border killing protesters

Houston Chronicle (7/17/97)
House panel plans probe of S.Texas border killing

Houston Chronicle (7/16/97)
Clinton adviser vows review of border tragedy
Official meets with family of slain teen [ONDCP director McCaffrey]

Houston Chronicle (7/15/97)
Shooting victim's sister, group seek to demilitarize border

The Orlando Sentinel (7/13/97)
Does anyone have the courage to say drug war is overblown?

Houston Chronicle (7/13/97)
Border shooting spurs new military training
Officials defend use of Marines in drug war

San Francisco Examiner (7/8/97)
Demilitarize the Mexican border

Oakland Tribune (7/8/97)
Emergency at the border

Dallas Morning News (7/7/97)
General defends Marine who killed teen
But civilian law enforcement might have avoided border shooting, he says

Houston Chronicle (7/1/97)
Steps in shooting of 18-year-old near Rio Grande retraced

New York Times (6/29/97)
In Marine's Killing of Teen-Ager, a Texas Border Town Mourns and Wonders Why

Austin American-Statesman (6/29/97)
Questions turn border tragedy into mystery

Associated Press (6/29/97)
Fatal shooting of goat herder by Marines enrages border town

Houston Chronicle (6/28/97)
Official calls border shooting `a mistake', then takes it back

Dallas Morning News (6/25/97)
Subpoena served in shooting

Houston Chronicle (6/24/97)
Teen shot by Marine at border bled to death, autopsy finds

Washington Post (6/22/97)
Questions on Military Role Fighting Drugs Ricochet From a Deadly Shot