Here, it would be a good idea to pause to remember Ranger Kris Eggle, Eagle Scout, track star and murder victim, killed by Mexican invaders of the narcotraficante variety, in 2002.The National Park Service named a visitors center after him in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, and their web page saysTighter border controls make it harder to smuggle marijuana into the USA, so more Mexican drug networks are growing crops here, Walters says.
"We are finding more marijuana gardens in the park year after year," says Jim Milestone, superintendent of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in Northern California.
"We're dealing with some bad characters," Milestone says. "We are arresting people... who have criminal records in Mexico, and almost all of them are here illegally with false papers."
In the wake of 9/11, Kris protected his country by intercepting thousands of pounds of illegal drugs, and guarding a 30-mile stretch of the nation's southern boundary.Kris Eggle was shot and killed in the line of duty at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, on August 9, 2002 while pursuing members of a drug cartel hit squad who fled into the United States after committing a string of murders in Mexico.
He was 28 years old.