There is a great thread going on over at Tactical Forums that was the motivation for this post. It is all about the ‘bajadores’ or rip-off crews along the border areas who basically prey on smugglers. To me, this is land based piracy or basically stealing from other criminals and illegal immigrants, and these individuals are an interesting group.
Now what is concerning with this is the advent of bajadores dressing up like Border Patrol or law enforcement and doing their deed. Then you get a situation where smugglers arm themselves to protect against these types of forces, and they then view everyone as a threat. Hence why the border is so dangerous for anyone to operate.
The other issue I was thinking about is that we always think of these gangs floating around on the border as being hispanic. But as this report indicates, law enforcement is aware that bajadores may also be ‘non-hispanic individuals’. My guess is that it is a small number, but as the border issue heats up and more acts of violence increase, we might actually see more citizens take the law into their own hands to combat this scourge. Good or bad, that is what happens when a government fails to do the job of protecting it’s citizenry or securing it’s borders.
Let’s end this post with a different thought about this. Imagine if what the bajadores was doing, was actually legal? Law enforcement seize the assets of criminals all the time during raids and arrests, and use that money to fund all sorts of toys and programs in their departments. Citizens could also participate in this activity, and they could either work off seizing assets, a bounty system, or both. A prize court could be established in that particular state, citizens and companies could become licensed and bonded to do such an activity, and states or the feds could manage the program. In other words, I like the idea of capturing criminals and taking everything they own. I also like getting a bounty for capturing them. Both of these acts would be called privateering and bounty hunting. –Matt
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Gangs are menacing ‘coyotes,’ immigrants Assaults, kidnapping are rampant
Daniel Gonzlez
Aug. 17, 2003Violent gangs have operated for years along the border, where they rob and kidnap immigrants and “coyotes” alike, usually at gunpoint.But authorities say the booming immigrant-smuggling trade has brought them northward and invaded the Phoenix area, bringing with them tactics common in drug trafficking – assaults, kidnapping and extortion – but previously uncommon in the smuggling business.
In Mexico, they are known as bajadores . In the United States, officials have dubbed those who prey on immigrant-smuggling operations “rip-off crews.”
The bajadores have been attracted by the lucrative smuggling trade, which has escalated in the Valley in recent years and grown even more profitable as the United States, by deploying more Border Patrol agents from California to Texas, has made it more difficult to cross into the country illegally, authorities say.
The enforcement buildup has turned the remote and deadly Arizona desert, where at least 127 immigrants have died this year, into the main gateway for illegal immigration into the United States.
The buildup also has made Phoenix the primary hub for transporting immigrants to other parts of the country.The bajadores prey on the smugglers by stealing the immigrants and then threatening to beat them up or kill them unless their families pay a ransom. The ransom isn’t cheap, and the bajadores often make good their threats. They typically demand $1,000 to $1,500, the price smugglers charge to transport undocumented immigrants from the border to Phoenix. (more…)