Blackwater Worldwide, the North Carolina-based mercenary organization notorious for gunning down unarmed Iraqi civilians, hopes to build a training facility on an 800-acre former ranch in Potrero, a tiny town about 40 miles east of San Diego. Blackwater's Christian fundamentalist CEO, Erik Prince, wants to position the company for a role in immigration enforcement along the Mexican border. Prince is a billionaire thanks to the sale of his family's company, which manufactured lighted vanity mirrors for cars. His shadowy company's headquarters are located on a 6000-acre tract in North Carolina's ecologically precious Great Dismal Swamp, now ravaged by off-road vehicles and live fire exercises. There has been angry and well-organized opposition to the company's plan for a Potrero base, both from local residents worried their town will be overrun and from anti-war activists opposed in principle to the for-profit militarization of the San Diego back country.
When the Harris fire burned thousands of acres and dozens of homes near Potrero, Blackwater representatives toured the area in company Humvees and saw a golden opportunity. They announced that the company would donate a tent city to house displaced residents. Two days later, climate-controlled military tents, along with toilets, showers, generators, and televisions arrived on flatbeds from North Carolina. They were erected on a half-acre lot at Barrett Junction and opened for business the next day. But the locals hate Blackwater so intensely that, a week later, only one person had taken them up on their offer.
Tent city for fire victims is going up near border
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