1985 Mexican Soldiers Disarm US citizens IN THE USA.

Robert Maupin and his daughter Denise share an unwanted distinction: They are probably the only American citizens to be detained and forcibly disarmed, at gunpoint, on U.S. soil, by Mexican soldiers. The incident, which took place in 1985, is not the only time the Mexican military illegally entered our country. Such incursions, like the one that took place near Ajo, Arizona, on May 17th of this year, are becoming increasingly common and breathtakingly brazen.

In the summer of 1985, Maupin recalled to THE NEW AMERICAN, "I mentioned to a friend who used to be a narcotics agent that I could smell ether on my property [near Tierra del Sol, California]. He pointed out that ether is used to make methamphetamine. The only neighbor we had was a small building about a half-mile south of the border, which was usually empty. However, sometimes a Mexican flag would be flying over it, there would be activity inside, and it would be guarded by guys in plain clothes carrying military weapons. I noticed that the ether smell would be really strong when the prevailing breeze came from that direction."

Maupin's friend told him that he was going to give the information "to our [drug enforcement] counterparts in Mexico." "I'm pretty sure that's where my problems began," Maupin comments.

On the following Sunday, Robert and Denise went out for some afternoon target practice in a shooting range improvised from "an old dry dam right on the border." While they were shooting, Maupin and his daughter saw what appeared to be "a bunch of kids wearing toy helmets" perilously close to their line of fire. When they went to investigate, Maupin and his daughter suddenly found themselves surrounded by "seven Mexican soldiers toting FN/FAL rifles" -- fully automatic, .308 caliber rifles used by NATO troops.

The sergeant in charge of the squad "told me in fairly good English that they were 'looking for illegal guns and drugs,'" Maupin recounted to THE NEW AMERICAN. "He also said specifically that they were looking for 'Senor Maupin,' which made it pretty clear to me that I had made somebody in the Mexican government angry by sticking my nose into their drug business."

"I told the sergeant, 'We're in the U.S.A. The guns that I and my daughter are carrying are legal, but yours aren't.' But the sergeant told one of his guys to disarm us." When the soldier reached to confiscate Denise's holstered .357 Magnum, "she backhanded him and just about knocked him flat," relates Maupin. "Several of the other soldiers started working the bolts on their rifles. We were outnumbered and outgunned, so I emptied my rifle, handed it to them, and told Denise to do the same with her gun."

Telling the sergeant that he had the proper paperwork for his guns back at his home, Robert led the squad back to his ranch house. As they walked with him, Robert told Denise that he would stall the soldiers at the corral long enough for her to get to a telephone and call the Border Patrol. It was to the ambivalent good fortune of Maupin and his family that these particular Mexican soldiers weren't particularly professional....

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