MEXICAN MILITARY NOT SEEN IN VIDEO OF STANDOFF

Video of the standoff between U.S. authorities and drug smugglers in
Hudspeth County in January does not prove the involvement of the
Mexican military, according to several officials who viewed the two
tapes taken by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

But Hudspeth County Sheriff's Deputy Esequiel Legarreta, who said he
was first on the scene, said the tapes do not show the entire
incident, and Hudspeth County Sheriff Arvin West said new evidence,
such as the alleged military identification plate on one of the
Humvees, should be considered.

The two videotapes, which were obtained by the El Paso Times, total
47 minutes and show patrol cars chasing three SUVs to the Rio Grande
on Jan. 23. One video shows the standoff that followed.

"As (Border Patrol Chief David V.) Aguilar said, it shows criminal
activity. Who is involved, we don't know," said Robert Boatright,
assistant chief of the Border Patrol's El Paso sector who saw the video.

Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said, "The initial report had them
pinned down, there was a standoff and a .50-caliber ... . I certainly
did not (see that). It also belied that there was a standoff because
they were casually walking while the smugglers are unloading what is
presumably marijuana."

FBI spokeswoman Andrea Simmons said the video "doesn't prove anything
as far as we are concerned. They could be people dressing in Mexican
military uniforms that were stolen. The Humvee ... . Is it a stolen
Humvee from the military?"

The tapes were shown last month to Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas,
Border Patrol officials and other law enforcement agencies. The video
also was shown at a House of Representatives hearing on border violence.