Arizona attack #5

No wonder the feds are puzzled… the attacks are on immigrants, not smugglers. I don’t think anyone is putting together the simple fact that making it harder to work and return home means people are having to bring their relatives here… and MORE security is going to mean MORE “illegal immigants”… and, being illegal, more smugglers trying to get into the business.

UNLESS it’s something else. This latest one could be smuggers, or could be vigilantes (at least the feds have finally started to entertain the idea, which seemed fairly obvious from the get-go), or could be something else entirely. No one really seems to know.

Attacks on smugglers puzzle feds

Daniel González, The Arizona RepublicMar. 1, 2007 12:00 AM

Tighter border security is fueling a resurgence of violent attacks on immigrant smugglers in Arizona that have killed four people and put law enforcement officials on high alert.

Law enforcement officials don’t know whether the attacks are related, but the incidents underscore that violence linked to the smuggling trade remains a prevalent problem in Arizona, despite stepped-up efforts to combat illegal immigration.

There have been five incidents in the past month involving armed men attacking vehicles possibly transporting undocumented immigrants to drophouses in Phoenix. The most recent attack took place Sunday, when three armed men hijacked a van and kidnapped five passengers at a stoplight in Ahwatukee Foothills….

The attackers could be border gangs known as bajadores, who rip off loads of illegal immigrants from smugglers and hold them for ransom, Peña said. Or they could be rival groups battling to control smuggling routes.

Federal officials also are investigating whether at least one attack near Eloy was carried out by anti-immigrant vigilantes. Four gunmen, who wore military fatigues, berets and spoke English, killed the driver of a truck carrying undocumented immigrants.