Arizona Border Recon
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Abbreviation | AZBR |
---|---|
Formation | 2011 |
Type | Licensed Intelligence Gathering Organization |
Location | |
Key people | Tim Foley (founder) |
Arizona Border Recon (AZBR) is a licensed intelligence gathering organization and provider of humanitarian aid in Arizona composed of former military, law enforcement and private security contractors.[1] The group was featured in the 2015 documentary Cartel Land. According to Chicago Film Critics Association member Bill Stamets, the documentary was inspired by a December, 2012 Rolling Stone report.[2]
The group was formed in 2011 by an Arizona man, Tim Foley, a former construction supervisor and Army veteran.[3][4] As of late 2015, the group had c. 200 members operating in the Altar Valley around Sasabe, Arizona,[4][5][6][7] armed with personal weapons including pistols, shotguns and semi-automatic rifles. AZBR originally targeted illegal immigration, but as of 2015 had a stated goal of disrupting drug smuggling across the United States-Mexico border[3] and preventing infiltration by foreign terrorists.[8]
References
- ^ Tim Gaynor (October 26, 2014), Desert Hawks: Paramilitary veterans group stakes out US-Mexico borderlands, Al Jazeera
- ^ Bill Stamets (July 22, 2015), "Cartel Land: civilian outliers versus outlaw capitalists", billstamets.com (blog)
- ^ a b "Arizona Border Recon" (Streaming audio), Latino USA, NPR, August 28, 2015
- ^ a b Damon Tabor (December 20, 2012), "Border of Madness", Rolling Stone, pp. 96–101, document ID 1269705456 – via ProQuest
- ^ David Sim (November 17, 2016), "Heavily armed civilian vigilantes patrol US-Mexico border for illegal immigrants: Arizona Border Recon conduct reconnaissance operations along a 52-mile desert corridor known as Cocaine Alley", International Business Times
- ^ Navideh Forghani (November 24, 2015), Arizona Border Recon takes border protection into their own hands, KNXV-TV News (ABC 15)
- ^ Tim Steller (May 27, 2012), "Militias in Arizona thrive despite lack of authorizing law", Arizona Daily Star
- ^ Peter Holley (November 25, 2015), "These armed civilians are patrolling the border to keep ISIS out of America", The Washington Post
Further reading
- Laura Mallonee (September 23, 2015), "On a Mission With the Men of Arizona Border Recon", Wired
- See the members of this unofficial border patrol: The Arizona Border Recon aims to provide intel and back-up for federal officers at the U.S.-Mexican border, High Country News, June 15, 2016
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ignored (help) - "Eyes on the Line", Tuscon News Now (KOLD-TV), July 21, 2014
- Kendal Blust (April 28, 2016), "Foley's War: Occupying the U.S.-Mexico Border", Arizona Sonora News Service, University of Arizona School of Journalism