Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 6 OctOber 2018
Groups seek U.S. help in identifying migrant remains

By JAMES ANDERSON tions and not, for example,
Associated Press to Argentine investigators
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — who have worked in Mexi-
Representatives of dozens co and along the U.S. bor-
of U.S. and Latin American der for years. That group
advocacy groups pressed has more than 4,000 DNA
their case Friday for access samples it's eager to cross-
to an FBI-run DNA data- reference with the U.S.
base to help them locate data.
and identify the remains Distrust of Mexican authori-
of thousands of migrants ties runs deep, and many
thought to have disap- Mexicans have turned to
peared over the last sever- the experts, known as the
al decades while crossing Argentine Forensic Anthro-
the Mexican border into pology Team, to help alle-
the United States. viate their suffering in Mex-
U.S. officials pledged to ico's bloody drug war and
continue talks on sharing in locating and identifying
forensic information and those who disappeared
efforts to identify the miss- migrating north. All three
ing — but said they are U.S. officials declined to
prevented from making Bea Abbott, center, joins other attendees in holding up placards bearing the photographs of immediately answer ques-
people who went missing while trying to cross the border from Mexico into the United States dur-
the information public by ing a hearing held by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Friday, Oct. 5, 2018, at the tions by the rights panel but
a federal law that strictly University of Colorado in Boulder, Colo. promised to submit written
restricts access to and shar- Associated Press responses. Those queries
ing of information from the included how to prevent
database. to compare those samples Carlos Trujillo, the U.S. per- alition. Among them: destruction of remains by
The comments came dur- with the FBI-run U.S. nation- manent representative to — The law authorized the local U.S. authorities. Two
ing a hearing of the Inter- al database. the OAS, and Paula Wolff, database for use by law mothers of missing children
American Commission on As some in the audience an attorney representing enforcement, not private testified during the brief
Human Rights at the Univer- held enlarged photos of the FBI, pledged coopera- actors such as the coali- hearing. One of them, Irma
sity of Colorado in Boulder. the missing, rights commis- tion on an issue that pre- tion. Carrillo, is a native of the
The commission, part of the sioner Margarette May Ma- dates the Donald Trump — It requires that DNA Mexican state of Sinaloa
Organization of American caulay offered to facilitate administration but cited samples be taken in the and mother of two children,
States, conducted a week- talks to find a solution the restrictions on what the FBI presence of and docu- ages 25 and 27, reported
long series of hearings on groups say they've been can do under the 1994 DNA mented by police officials missing nearly 20 years ago
various hemispheric issues seeking for years. Act, which governs use of — a deterrent to relatives as they were crossing the
at the university. "I have great faith that you the national database. of the missing distrustful of border into Arizona. She
Advocacy groups say they do intend and have the Wolf cited legal and logisti- Mexican police or who, be- wept after speaking pri-
have compiled more than will to work toward solv- cal technicalities prevent- cause of their immigration vately with OAS Ambassa-
4,000 DNA profiles of peo- ing this egregious situation ing sharing of the FBA data- status, fear coming forward dor Trujillo. "A solution can
ple reported missing and and give peace to these base with the advocates, to U.S. authorities. change the direction of my
presumed dead along the people," Macaulay told academics and investiga- — DNA matches or other life," Carrillo said. "We only
border with samples from U.S. officials attending the tors collectively organized results can only be released want to know what hap-
relatives. The groups want hearing. as the Forensic Border Co- to criminal justice organiza- pened to them."q

1,000 wild horses to be rounded up in Northern California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) horses and says many of The roundup is set to begin not a lot of vegetation and an estimated 300 animals
— The U.S. Forest Service is them could be sold to dis- Tuesday and last through not a lot of water," McAd- — will be made available
set to round up 1,000 wild tant slaughterhouses. the month. It will target ams said. for sale without limitations
horses from a herd in the The U.S. Department of the for $1 each, "allowing kill
Devil's Garden Plateau Wild Interior oversees most of buyers to purchase a truck-
Horse Territory inside the America's wild horses and load of 36 horses once a
Modoc National Forest, the burros and prohibits selling week until they are gone,"
Sacramento Bee reported . them to slaughterhouses, the AWHC said.
Modoc National Forest Su- but the Forest Service is un- Forest Service spokesman
pervisor Amanda McAd- derneath the U.S. Depart- Ken Sandusky said that
ams said the area is sup- ment of Agriculture, which while the policy is new, this
posed to have up to 400 has no such restriction. is also the first "horse gather"
horses but that the area The American Wild Horse on public lands in 13 years
has almost 4,000 animals. Campaign says the gov- and that the Forest Service
Those horses enjoy a range ernment is "exploiting a le- works with a variety of part-
of more than 250,000 acres gal loophole" that will result ners to adopt out as many
(101,170 hectares) within in the slaughter of hundreds wild horses as possible.
the national forest, which is of animals. "The other option is long-
In this Aug. 19, 2004 file photo, a helicopter herds a group of wild about two and a half hours The horses will be made term holding, which makes
horses toward a large V-shaped trap at Devils Garden at the northeast of Redding. available for adoption but unlimited sale the only fis-
Modoc National Forest, Calif. "It sounds like a lot of acres after a 30-day period all cally responsible option,"
Associated Press
for 4,000 horses, but there's horses 10 years and older — Sandusky said.q