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MEXICO CITY (AP) – Fourteen Mexican Army soldiers were briefly detained and then returned to Mexico after crossing the United States on a border bridge in El Paso, Texas.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that two Mexican military vehicles had crossed the bridge that connects El Paso to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in the early hours of Saturday.
CBP said the soldiers, their weapons and equipment “were secured for safety and processing,” and noted that the soldiers said “they did not realize they had entered the United States. “.
One of the Mexican soldiers “was given a civil sanction after CBP agents discovered a personal quantity of marijuana in his possession,” according to the CPB.
The 14 soldiers, their equipment and vehicles were returned to Mexico hours later after Mexican army officers picked them up.
Photos posted on social media showed around half a dozen Mexican army soldiers in full tactical gear, sitting by the side of the road near a border bridge. We didn’t know if they were handcuffed.
Mexico’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Accidental border crossings by Mexican military forces have occurred in the past, but usually in areas where the border is not clearly marked, not at major border bridges.
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