The Nation : 8 in Convoy Arrested in Border Scuffle

Eight members of a convoy carrying aid to Nicaraguan civilians were arrested during a melee in Laredo, Tex., after they tried to cross a bridge into Mexico. The scuffle broke out on the international bridge when officers sprayed a cayenne-based irritant into the truck of the Veterans Peace Convoy, which had blocked a traffic lane for four hours. Police arrested the eight as 50 of their supporters chanted: “The whole world is watching,” and then rushed past a line of police at the bridge toll booth. Customs officers said allowing the trucks to leave the country without assurances they would return would violate a trade embargo against Nicaragua. “There was a little bit of pushing and shoving but there was nothing where anybody was in any real, serious danger,” said Police Chief Victor Garcia, who defended the use of mace and clubs: “We had been very patient. We had asked them to stop blocking the roadway, but they put us up against the wall.”