Mexico Seeks Probe Into Shooting of Man at Border

The Mexican government has requested an investigation into the death of an unarmed Mexican man who was shot, allegedly by a U.S. Border Patrol agent, over the weekend.

The incident Friday night highlights the increasing levels of violence along the San Diego-Tijuana border, and is being used by the Mexican government as an example of what it calls inhumane U.S. immigration policies.

It took place in a heavily patrolled area on the California side of the border when a man was throwing rocks at an agent, said Border Patrol spokeswoman Dora Doyle.

The agent fired one shot at the man, who fled to Mexico, Doyle said. Mexican consulate officials in San Diego said Guillermo Martinez Rodriguez, 18, was wounded and taken to a Tijuana hospital, where he died the next day.

A preliminary investigation in Mexico determined that Martinez had been shot in the back from about 16 feet away, said Alberto Lozano, a consulate spokesman.

“We condemn the use of force in this tragic case.... It’s an abuse of power,” Lozano said.

Border Patrol officials dispute the findings, saying it’s not clear whether the man involved in the confrontation at the fence was the same one who died.

In the last year, U.S. border agents have come under increasingly frequent attacks by organized smuggling gangs in the area.

Agents often use nonlethal weapons, such as pepper ball launchers, but can use more deadly force, if necessary.

“We do try to defuse these situations, but sometimes the action of these people forces us to defend ourselves,” said Kurstan Rosberg, a Border Patrol spokesman.

Martinez’s death has received intense media coverage in Mexico -- “Migrant Shot in the Back,” one newspaper headline said -- and brought strong condemnation from activists and Mexican government officials.

Martinez, originally from Guadalajara, had crossed into California looking for work, Lozano said.

In Mexico City, President Vicente Fox’s office used the incident to emphasize his government’s position on the contentious illegal immigration debate in Washington.

“This occurrence does no more than provide evidence that only a law that guarantees legal entry and is respectful of human rights can resolve the migratory problem both countries face,” said Ruben Aguilar, Fox’s chief spokesman.

The shooting took place on one of the most violent stretches on the 2,000-mile border, a dusty, hilly area across from Colonia Libertad, a Tijuana neighborhood notorious for smuggling activity. Agents there regularly come under attack as gang members throw large rocks, Molotov cocktails or fire paintballs and other projectiles to help get migrants across.

In the first three months of the U.S. fiscal year, which started Oct. 1, 78 assaults against agents have been reported in the San Diego sector, up from 25 during the same period in the previous year.

On Friday night, the agent encountered a man who had already passed the first of two border fences and was holding a makeshift ladder near the second, according to a news release from the San Diego Police Department, which is investigating the case.

According to the release, when the agent got out of his vehicle, the man retreated and scooped up what the agent believed were several rocks. The man then “cocked his arm and made a throwing motion” toward the agent. The agent fired and the man grabbed his arm, ran toward the first fence and disappeared.

Shortly afterward, a man with a gunshot wound arrived at a Tijuana hospital, the release said.

Lt. Kevin Rooney, a San Diego police spokesman, said his agency routinely investigates Border Patrol-related shootings that result in injuries. Friday’s shooting was the third of 2005.

The findings of the investigation, which should take about 30 days, will be sent to the U.S. attorney’s office in San Diego, Rooney said.