Haitian Gangs Kidnap U.S. Missionaries

Other News: Border Patrol Agents Report Plummeting Morale

Just a small dispatch this morning, it’s Sunday. But a couple of things have caught our eye, and there’s some housekeeping to be done in regards to Monday’s upcoming special meeting in Kinney County.

Firstly, The New York Times is reporting this weekend that a group of at least 17 Americans have been kidnapped in Haiti. The exact number being held is unclear. Reports say there were at least 17 Missionaries captured, along with some of their family members.

If one presumes half of those captured had a spouse and child with them, that could mean as many as 26 or more are actually being held.

It happened Saturday as they were leaving an orphanage in Port-au-Prince. We would link the article, but it’s behind a paywall. A web-archive image of it is up here.

The Times cites local officials who say the missionaries were abducted from a bus headed to the airport to drop off some members of the group before continuing to another destination in Haiti.

Apparently, kidnappings of the rich and poor alike are very common in Haiti. But the Times indicates this kind of a move is especially brazen. So far no word on if any ransom demands have been made.

By some estimates, violent armed gangs control roughly half of the Haitian capitol city, fueling expectations of more illegal immigration and asylum seeking in the US and other nations by Haitian aliens.

Border Patrol Morale Plummeting

It should surprise no one to hear morale is dropping at the U.S. Border Patrol, but an alarming report in the Epoch Times highlights just how bad things seem to be getting. The article may be behind a paywall, but what stands out is one anonymous quote midway through from an Agent talking about what he sees on the faces of his fellows trying to keep up with what’s happening in the Rio Grande Valley.

“Day after day, they just look like they want to eat their gun,” an agent told The Epoch Times, referring to some local agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, who he says are bearing the brunt of it. “They just look like hell. It’s hard to put it—you just start seeing the life leaving people’s faces.”

The content of the quote is only part of what makes it stand out. The other half of the matter is that the Reporter, Charlotte Cuthbertson has clearly been able to cultivate a measure of trust with rank and file Border Patrol agents who face potentially severe repercussions for speaking to reporters. Public commentary is reserved for Agency leadership, and also Union leaders, who are able to speak to journalists in their capacity as representatives of their membership.

Cuthbertson’s reporting goes on to highlight how many agents seem to be frustrated with acting as paperwork processors and immigration clerks, instead of actively policing the border. One recommends going ahead and biting the bullet and registering with the Epoch Times so as to be able to read the whole thing.

Kinney County Public Safety Meeting Adjustment

A check of the Kinney County Courthouse website indicates Monday’s upcoming public safety meeting has been pushed back to 1:30 that Afternoon. We have been reporting it would be in the morning, based on communications with the County Sheriff.

It can be difficult to get official comment on a Sunday, but one suspects the website is accurate, as indeed, the agenda published there also says 1:30 and has been stamped by the District Clerk’s office.

In any event, we will be at the Courthouse bright and early, just in case.