Sergio and Julio

I was sent this petition link on Facebook.  Two teens were busted in Mexico for drugs in the car. Their families want to free them.

Typically I am leery of such, as the story given can often be one-sided, and decided to do some checking.

Turns out the father bought the van from a government auction -- it had been seized in a drug raid and police had found drugs in it. Even our government, according to Professor Jonathan Turley, "has admitted the likely error on their part and written a letter to the Mexican police that "Torres Duarte could have had the cocaine without knowing when he was arrested driving the car in Mexico.”

The petition is gaining support, and I certainly encourage that, but I also think there's something else that could be effective at getting official attention to ensure the facts of this troubling case get adequate public scrutiny, and that if an injustice has been done that it be made right.

I just sent the following to the Mexican Embassy in Washington:

That's tough for older eyes to read, so here's the text of my message:

Please give this your full attention:
http://jonathanturley.org/2013/08/15/fully-loaded-van-for-sale-teens-arrested-in-mexico-after-drugs-found-in-van-purchased-at-government-auction/

The facts of this troubling case need to be openly examined, and if there is a reasonable doubt that these boys have been wrongly convicted, your government must set things right. In the absence of that, I will be contacting my representative and asking that Congress use its authority to defund economic assistance programs to your country, and will be urging others to do the same.

With over 138,000 supporters having signed a petition at this writing (http://tinyurl.com/lhn9fxj), it's not difficult to see how widespread grassroots support for this idea could create a bipartisan demand that Congress could not ignore.

Yeah, I know, I'm against the foreign aid  as a matter of legitimacy and principle, too, but VLLA SELLA 'n all that.

The bottom line is, particularly if airing the facts shows the kids were railroaded, this could gin up popular support for Republicans with the Hispanic electorate that wouldn't involve caving on illegal immigration.  And yeah, I also know that the GOP establishment is probably too unimaginative, corrupt and dumb to show principled leadership on anything, but just maybe if enough of us contact the Mexican ambassador, it will shake something loose.

What have you go to lose, two minutes?