San Diego (AP) Officials said that escalating violence at the U.S.-Mexico border is forcing agents to take new measures, and the new tactics are creating controversy. Since October, there have been over a hundred assaults against Border Patrol agents in the San Diego area, according to officials, an increase of 500 percent from the same period a year ago.

 

The violence is most common just east of the San Ysidro port of entry along a 2-mile stretch of border. The area, which is called Colonia Libertad, is one of most densely populated neighborhoods pushing up against the border. Several U.S. Border Patrol agents have reported rock-throwing incidents in the area.

Although the use of pepper spray by border agents is not new, the procedure of targeting areas rather than individuals is.

 

Witnesses told the paper that the incidents have prompted evacuations. Some people living in the area had to go to hospitals for treatment, witnesses said.

 

Ricardo Pineda, who is the acting Mexican consul general in San Diego, has protested the aggressive use of tear gas and pepper spray.

"We told them the Mexican government cannot tolerate having Mexican nationals hit with these kind of devices on Mexican soil by U.S. authorities, regardless of the reason," consular spokesman Alberto Lozano told the paper.

 

The Border Patrol is considering adding barbed wire along the section of the border where Colonia Libertad is located. That is an option that has been considered previously but not implemented.