Brinworld++ U.S. Vigilantes Test Drones on Mexican Border

[Tyler Durden]

You forgot to include the part where the drones follow each of the 100,000 
Mexicans all the way to the farms they work for 50 cents an hour. Come to 
think of it, to multiply the real purpose of the drones, there should be a 
picture of a taco and a fuck-you middle finger painted on each of the 
drone's belly.

-TD


>From: "Major Variola (ret)" <mv at cdc.gov>
>To: "cypherpunks at lne.com" <cypherpunks at lne.com>
>Subject: Brinworld++  U.S. Vigilantes Test Drones on Mexican Border
>Date: Wed, 14 May 2003 15:55:18 -0700
>
>MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - An Arizona vigilante group is testing
>homemade "drone" reconnaissance planes on the U.S.-Mexican border to
>monitor illegal immigrants entering the United States in lonely desert
>areas.
>
>Glenn Spencer, head of the American Border Patrol vigilante group, said
>on Tuesday the group has been testing two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for
>about a month and plans to have a fleet making passes over the border by
>early July.
>
>"We want to show how the application of this technology can solve the
>border problem," Spencer told Reuters.
>
>Police and residents say they are aware of the drones, similar to
>unmanned U.S. military aircraft used in Iraq.
>
>Hundreds of thousands of illegal Mexican immigrants cross the border in
>search of work every year. Three vigilante groups, some of them armed,
>have sprung up in Arizona in the last three years to monitor the border
>and hand over any illegal immigrants they find to U.S. Border Patrol
>agents.
>
>The groups say U.S. authorities allow too many Mexicans to flout U.S.
>immigration law. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, some have also said
>unrestricted immigration poses an unacceptable security risk.
>
>Area residents say the drones invade their privacy and foster poor
>cross-border relations.
>
>"The Mexican populations along the border are indignant," said Miguel
>Escobar, a Mexican Foreign Ministry official based in Arizona.
>
>Ray Borane, mayor of the border town of Douglas, Ariz., said the group's
>activities are racist.
>
>"BORDER HAWK"
>
>The vigilantes say they plan to outfit each UAV with a global
>positioning device to pinpoint migrants, and then forward hose
>coordinates to the Border Patrol.
>
>Dubbed the Border Hawk, the $5,000 drone has a wingspan of 5-1/2 feet
>and flies at an altitude of 300-400 feet -- under the 500 feet mandated
>for aircraft that need certification by the Federal Aviation
>Administration.
>
>The craft are made by members of the vigilante group with experience in
>electronics, Spencer said.
>
>Mario Villarreal, spokesman for the Bureau of Customs and Border
>Protection in Washington, said: "We appreciate the community's efforts
>in notifying us of suspicious activities... We encourage them to call
>the Border Patrol or law enforcement but those efforts should be within
>the law."
>
>He refused to comment directly on the vigilantes or their planned use of
>drones.
>
>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51414-2003May13.html

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