The Texas Department of Public Safety has released this snippet of raw video from the maybe-not-so-epic shootout on the Rio Grande yesterday.
It shows the drug-filled inflatable raft, but the best shot is four U.S. boats, proudly and meacingly facing towards Mexico. Take that, drug cartels!
Meanwhile, the McAllen Monitorhas raised some questions about DPS’ take on how intense the firefight was.
“U.S. authorities didn’t come under heavy fire at border, sources say,” is their headline.
Of course, any bullet is bad enough, but the paper says only six shots were fired from Mexico, and none reached American officers, instead hitting the ground. They said the incident involved “small-time smugglers.”
DPS is having a press conference on the scene right now, so there might be some clarity forthcoming.
This article appears in Jun 9-15, 2011.