US Agents Placed on Leave After Fatal Shooting, Not Held Accountable
📰 THE STORY: Al Jazeera reports that US federal agents involved in a fatal shooting during an immigration raid have been placed on administrative leave, a standard procedure, as a vigil was held for the victim, Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, also known as 'Tortuguita'. This routine act is presented as due process, implying a temporary consequence for the agents involved. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING
YOU: Historical Context: This 'administrative leave' is a well-worn playbook entry, mirroring decades of zero accountability for law enforcement brutality. Think of the 1992 Rodney King beating, where officers were acquitted despite video evidence, leading to riots. More recently, hundreds of documented cases of Border Patrol agents using excessive force, including lethal force, against migrants
and US citizens alike have resulted in internal investigations and administrative leave, with criminal charges being exceedingly rare. According to a 2018 report by the Southern Border Communities Coalition, from 2010 to 2018, at least 97 people died after encounters with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel, with very few agents ever facing consequences beyond a temporary removal from
duty. Double Standard: Imagine this scenario playing out in Venezuela or Bolivia. Western media would trumpet it as evidence of a 'rogue regime' or 'state-sanctioned violence,' demanding international intervention and sanctions. Instead, when it happens in the 'democratic' US, it's a procedural hiccup, an unfortunate incident necessitating 'leave,' rather than a systemic failure of accountability