PrintApril 24, 2008
Mexican Official Caught Stealing White House Blackberries
This is a pretty unebelievable story - except the Secret Service has the whole crime on tape.
Apparently, a Mexican government official advancing the meeting in New Orleans between President Bush and Mexican President Calderon was caught red handed stealing Blackberries off of a table that didn't belong to him:
Whether he was up to no good or simply desperate to play BrickBreaker, a Mexican press attaché was caught on camera by Secret Service pocketing several White House BlackBerries during a recent meeting in New Orleans,This is one of those "Insert Joke Here" stories except it really isn't funny. The contempt this fellow shows the United States is no less than the contempt shown by the entire Mexican government when it comes to their cooperation in keeping our border secure.
FOX News has learned. Sources with knowledge of the incident said the official, Rafael Quintero Curiel, served as the lead press advance person for the Mexican Delegation and was responsible for handling logistics and guiding the Mexican media around at the conference.
He took six or seven of the handheld devices from a table outside a special room in the hotel where the Mexican delegation was meeting with President Bush earlier this week. Everyone entering the room was required to leave his or her cell phone, BlackBerry and other such devices on the table, a common practice when high-level meetings are held. American officials discovered their missing belongings when they were leaving the session.
It didn't take long before Secret Service officials reviewed videotape taken by a surveillance camera and found footage showing Quintero Curiel absconding with the BlackBerries.
Sources said Quintero Curiel made it all the way to the airport before Secret Service officers caught up with him. He initially denied taking the devices, but after agents showed him the DVD, Quintero Curiel said it was purely accidental, gave them back, claimed diplomatic immunity and left New Orleans with the Mexican delegation.
In fact, as you are probably aware, the Mexican government openly encourages its citizens to head north to find work - and send money back to Mexico. Last year, more than $15 billion was returned to the homeland by Mexican immigrants both legal and illegal. And no American president - certainly not this one - has done anything to make the Mexican government think it should change its policies.
The tighter the job market gets in this economic slowdown, the more immigration will become an issue in the campaign.
It's just too bad that McCain agrees with the Democrats on the issue.
