The Nation : 8 in Convoy Arrested in Border Scuffle

Eight members of a convoy carrying aid to Nicaraguan civilians were arrested during a melee in Laredo, Tex., after they tried to cross a bridge into Mexico. The scuffle broke out on the international bridge when officers sprayed a cayenne-based irritant into the truck of the Veterans Peace Convoy, which had blocked a traffic lane for four hours. Police arrested the eight as 50 of their supporters chanted: “The whole world is watching,� and then rushed past a line of police at the bridge toll booth. Customs officers said allowing the trucks to leave the country without assurances they would return would violate a trade embargo against Nicaragua. “There was a little bit of pushing and shoving but there was nothing where anybody was in any real, serious danger,� said Police Chief Victor Garcia, who defended the use of mace and clubs: “We had been very patient. We had asked them to stop blocking the roadway, but they put us up against the wall.�