More On The Falcon Lake Shooting

Follow-up to an earlier post about an American boater shot and killed by suspected Mexican drug cartel members...

I don't know what's going on with the San Antonio Express-News and their on-line reporting of the man shot by Mexican thugs while jet-skiing on a Texas-Mexico lake, but I'm beginning to wonder. It's either incompetence (quite likely, based on the website's general lack of reliable search engine, inconsistent and unreliable archives, and general all-round clunkiness) or pandering to Mexican interests. I suspect a combination of the two.

In any event, it's disappointing to say the least when I get a more complete account of the incident from a British outlet - the Daily Mail Online - than I do from the nearest 'major' newspaper. Two examples:

In the 10/2/10 print version of the Express-News there is a paragraph in the story that quotes a Mexican government representative as denying any knowledge of the incident: "We inform you that we do not have any information related to the incident. We don't have any comments to add. Have a nice day" (p. 11A).

In the 10/3/10 print edition the story states "American authorities are having to rely on Mexican police, who said they were unable to search as their boat's engine was missing" (p. 3B).

Neither of these statements appear in the stories on the paper's website.

Both of them expose the Mexican authorities as bungling clowns

• No information. "Have a nice day"??? When investigating a murder???
•  'Sorry, señor, but our boat, it has no motor. Maybe mañana'.

Of course, comparing the Mexican authorities to bungling clowns is unfair to the clowns. At least they're trying.

For the most part, I think the San Antonio paper is okay - not great, but not bad. But they do tend to tiptoe around anything that might embarrass or offend Mexico and Mexicans. That's unfair to responsible journalists everywhere (that is, if there are any responsible ones left), unfair to the paper's readers, and ultimately unfair to Mexico and Mexicans themselves. Hiding or sugarcoating the truth doesn't help anyone.

In a related vein, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and osama-oops-I mean-obama, the two government officials most directly responsible for protecting the American homeland and the safety of American citizens, stated ... well, actually they haven't said anything about this. Their silence tells us everything we need to know about them. I'd include them in the 'bungling clowns' category, but again, I don't want to insult the clowns...

UPDATE:

More Smuggling Tunnels Discovered

On Thursday (Sept. 30), the Border Patrol was filling an underground tunnel that had been discovered right under the immigration  checkpoint in Nogales. But even before the concrete was poured to make that tunnel inoperative, another subterranean passageway was discovered a block away.

Over the last four years, at least 51 unauthorized tunnels, or more than one a month, have been found in the two border cities. Some are short, narrow passageways that require those navigating them to slither. Others are long, sophisticated underground thoroughfares strung with electric cables and ventilation hoses.

One high-end tunnel found in 2005 farther west in Calexico, Calif., originated in the master bedroom of a Mexican home and extended to a garage on the American side. It had a phone line and air conditioning, and the authorities estimated that dozens of truckloads of dirt had to be removed to build it.

Grenade attack in Mexico injures 14, including 8 minors.

According to witnesses, gunmen in two vehicles stopped near the building, and one person stepped out, took some steps, and threw the grenade in an area where families were walking by. 

It was the fourth grenade attack in Monterrey this weekend.

Friday, three grenade explosions were reported in Monterrey: one in front of the justice center, one at a prison and another near the U.S. consulate there.

Mexico drug violence claims 34 lives in two days.

Yet another wave of killing blamed on drug rings in Mexico has claimed 34 lives in two days, authorities have said.

The killings took place between Friday and Saturday overwhelmingly in Mexico's north, close to the lucrative US drug market.

Okay, I'll stop now. You're probably as tired of reading about this as I am of posting about it. It's just so tragic...