The radar-balloon perimeter that the U.S. Customs Service has been trying to raise along the Mexican border to detect drug smuggling is not flying high. Last December one of the Texas-based gas bags broke loose from its tether near Eagle Pass and began drifting south, alarming federal officials with the prospect of an international incident with Mexico. A shift in the wind pushed the device back into Texas, where it was deflated by remote control. In April a balloon at Marfa, Texas, was buffeted on the ground by winds and self- destructed. Another balloon that was due to be installed at...
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