INADEQUATE TRAINING OF MARINES BLAMED FOR BORDER DEATH

EL PASO, Texas - The teenage goatherd shot and killed by Marines
patrolling the U.S. border was the victim of an inadequate military
training program, an investigation has concluded.

In a harshly worded criticism, the Marine Corps report said brief
training on the proper use of force did not balance combat responses
drilled into Marines.

"Basic Marine Corps combat training instills an aggressive spirit
while teaching combat skills," wrote retired Marine Maj. Gen. John
Coyne, who investigated the shooting. "More is needed to place young
fully armed Marines in a domestic environment to perform non-combat
duties."

Esequiel Hernandez Jr., 18, was killed May 20, 1997, after coming
across four Marines conducting anti-drug surveillance in Redford, 200
miles southeast of El Paso, at the request of the Border Patrol.

The military said Hernandez fired his .22-caliber rifle twice at
members of the patrol and that he had raised the weapon to fire a
third time when Cpl. Clemente Banuelos shot him once with an M-16 rifle.

Relatives disputed the account, saying that Hernandez would never
knowingly shoot at anyone and that he carried the rifle solely to
protect his livestock from wild dogs and to shoot targets.

The shooting led to the suspension of armed military patrols on the
U.S.-Mexico border and an outcry among civil-rights advocates and
those who oppose using the military in the domestic war on drugs.

No charges were filed against the Marines, and they were cleared by
both state and federal grand juries. The Hernandez family received a
$1 million settlement from the government.

The Marine Corps rebutted the report in a written response that argued
Coyne arbitrarily concluded the training was inadequate.

It noted that several investigations, including those conducted by
state and federal grand juries, concluded the Marines appropriately
followed established rules of engagement and civil rules regarding the
use of force.

Critics of military involvement in drug prevention along the border
said yesterday the investigation's conclusions bolster their case.

Kevin Zeese, president of Common Sense for Drug Policy, a nonprofit
educational group based in Falls Church, Va., said he hopes the report
will help persuade officials to halt the patrols permanently.

"The whole sense of the report was that the military should not be
involved in domestic law enforcement," Zeese said. "They are not
prepared for it. They're not trained for it. They're inappropriate for
it."

Lt. Col. Mike Milord, a Defense Department spokesman, said the future
of the patrols is still being decided and declined further comment.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry