Esequiel Hernández Jr.

Esequiel Hernández Jr. (May 14, 1979 – May 20, 1997) was an 18-year-old American high school student killed on May 20, 1997, by United States Marines in Redford, Texas, located approximately one mile from the United States–Mexico border.[1] Hernández was the first American civilian to be killed by military personnel while on duty in the United States since the 1970 Kent State shootings,[2] and led to Secretary of Defense William Cohen issuing a temporary suspension of troop patrols near the U.S.–Mexico border.[3] The shooting inspired the 2005 movie The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada by Tommy Lee Jones, and the 2007 documentary The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez.[4]

Esequiel Hernández
Born
Esequiel Hernández Jr.

(1979-05-14)May 14, 1979
DiedMay 20, 1997(1997-05-20) (aged 18)
Redford, Texas
NationalityAmerican
Known forHigh school student killed by United States Marines

Death

U.S. Marines Ronald Wieler Jr., Ray Torres Jr., James Matthew Blood, and their fire-team leader, San Francisco native Clemente Bañuelos (all between the ages of 19 and 22), on drug patrol and heavily camouflaged in ghillie suits came upon Hernández herding goats. The camouflaged Marines observed the 18-year-old high school student from concealment at a distance of approximately 200 yards maintaining radio contact with their unit.[5] Hernández, who was carrying a .22 caliber rifle that family members said he used to fend off predators, shot in the direction of the Marines.[1] Continuing to call for Border Patrol assistance, the Marines proceeded to track Hernández for 20 minutes, until Bañuelos shot and killed him, with the bullet entering the armpit on his right side.[5][6]

Investigation

A congressional investigation into the killing was scheduled for September 1997.[7] A grand jury examined the fatal shooting and considered criminal charges against the four Marines,[8] but did not indict any of the Marines involved in the shooting.[9] The Justice Department subsequently dropped its investigation.[10] The Marine Corps also investigated the killing.[11] In 1998, the U.S. government paid the Hernández family $1.9 million to settle a wrongful death claim.[12] Clemente Bañuelos, the 22-year-old U.S. Marine who fatally shot Hernández was not charged.[13]

Impact on policy

Following the killing, the militarization of the U.S.–Mexico border came under harsh scrutiny, with Defense Secretary William Cohen halting the use of military anti-drug patrols on the border, limiting the use of armed forces on the border for years to come.[14] As then-president Donald Trump in 2018 ordered active-duty troops to the U.S.–Mexico border in Operation Faithful Patriot, the military killing of the teenager resurfaced in the public debate as a cautionary tale.[15][16] In part due to the killing of Hernandez, many military officials continue to oppose domestic deployment of troops.[17]

The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez

The 2007 documentary The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez explores his killing by Marines, analysing both sides of the issue. It won best-documentary awards at the Mexico City Film Festival and Santa Fe Film Festival in 2007 and at the El Paso festival in 2008. It is directed by Kieran Fitzgerald[18] and narrated by Tommy Lee Jones. The documentary premiered July 8, 2008 on PBS.

See also
  • PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer broadcast August 13, 1997 Casualties of the Drug War
  • Oversight Investigation of the Death of Esequiel Hernandez Jr.: A Report of Chairman Lamar Smith to the Subcommittee on Immigration & Claims of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, 150th congress. United States Government Printing, January 1998. ISBN 0-16-057719-5 ISBN 978-0-16-057719-2

References
  1. Gwynne/Marfa (1997-08-25). "Border Skirmish". Time. Archived from the original on January 13, 2005. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  2. Paulsen, Monte (1998-12-25). "Fatal Error: The Pentagon's War on Drugs Takes a Toll on the Innocent". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  3. Kasindorg, Martin (1997-07-30). "Pentagon Pulls Troops Off Drug Patrols". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  4. Dargis, Manohla (2005-12-14). "Dead Man Rising: An Odyssey in Texas". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  5. "On the Border". Hartford Advocate. 2008-06-30. Archived from the original on 2008-07-15. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  6. Draper, Robert (August 1997). "Soldiers of Misfortune". Texas Monthly. Archived from the original on 2018-04-04.
  7. Wiessler, Judy (1997-07-17). "House panel plans probe of S. Texas border killing". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  8. Howe Verhovek, Sam (1997-07-31). "Grand Jury to Examine Fatal Shooting of 18-Year-Old by Marine". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  9. Zeve, Charles (1997-08-14). "Grand jury doesn't indict Marine in border shooting". CNN. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  10. Lewis, Anne S. (2008-06-06). "Tragedy on the Border". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  11. Coyne, John T. (1998-04-07). Investigation to Inquire Into the Circumstances Surrounding the Joint Task Force-6 (JTF-6) Shooting That Occurred on 20 May 1997 Near the Border Between the United States and Mexico (Report). United States Marine Corps.
  12. Herrick, Thaddeus (1998-08-12). "Family to receive $1.9 million in border shooting". Houston Chronicle. p. A1.
  13. Mittelstadt, Michelle (1998-02-26). "Feds won't press charges in border shooting". Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2008-07-19. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  14. MacCormack, John (May 13, 2017). "Border killing 20 years ago changed military tactics". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  15. Fernandez, Manny (November 27, 2018). "U.S. Troops Went to the Border in 1997. They Killed an American Boy". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  16. Schmidt, Samantha (April 6, 2018). "How the tragic killing of an American teenager halted the military border presence in 1997". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  17. Mathis-Lilley, Ben (April 5, 2018). "In 1997, U.S. Troops Killed a "Drug Smuggler" at the Border Who Was Actually an American Teenager Herding Livestock". Slate. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  18. Casady, Michelle (2008-07-08). "Documentary explores Texas teen's killing by Marines". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
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