Fifteen people reportedly arrested for robbing concertina wire installed by US authorities and selling it to locals in Tijuana
David Agren
@el_reportero
Wed 20 Mar 2019 12.26 EDT
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Mexicans are building fences, and America has already paid for them.
In recent months, US authorities have unrolled miles of razor wire along the border with Mexico as part of efforts to "harden" the frontier and deter migrants from entering America illegally.
But thieves in the city of Tijuana have made a mockery of Donald Trump's attempts at beefing up border security by stealing the razor wire and reselling it to local residents in Mexico.
Residents of barrios abutting the border told XETW 12 television in Tijuana that entrepreneurial individuals have offered to sell them the stolen concertina wire and install it for just 40 pesos per home - barely $2.
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Fifteen people have been arrested for stealing concertina wire, according to XETW 12, but none were held for long. The wire they offered to locals matches what was installed on the border and is not sold in Mexican hardware stores, according to local media.
One resident, identified as Ver'onica, told El Sol de Tijuana newspaper that the man selling the wire was clearly not from Mexico. "It was an American punk: blue eyes, blond hair. He didn't speak Spanish very well," she said.
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