Bin Laden Killed: Latinos, War And 9/11

I don’t know if this ranks as a where-were-you moment, but I’ll tell you how and where I heard about the death of Osama Bin Laden. I was at home, checking email and social media one last time before  hitting the sack. A friend posted that we should tune in to TV because something big was brewing at the White House. About an hour later news of Bin Laden’s death was reported and soon after that President Obama made the speech that confirmed the news.

Now our thoughts at News Taco have turned to how integral Latinos have been in the 9/11-Iraq-Afghanistan affair that’s been going on for the past 10 years. Here’s some information about Latino involvement on 9/11 and its aftermath.

• 47 of the victims of the attack on 9/11were Latinos, or 9% of all the victims.
  • 25 Dominicans
  • 18 Colombians
  • 15 Mexicans
  • 13 from Ecuador
  • 6 from Cuba
  • 4 Argentineans
  • 1 from Chile
  • 7 Haitians
  • others from El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Peru, Venezuela, Paraguay and Guyana.
• The first serviceman to die in Iraq was Marine Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, an orphan raised in Guatemala’s slums. He died at Umm Qasr on March 21, 2003.
• Latinos in the military

• In 2004, 7,500 military personnel gained their U.S. citizenship through the military, the highest number since the Vietnam War.
• Al Qaeda-linked arrests along the US-Mexico border = zero.

Do you have any more facts we should include?

Post them on the comments below or let us know at: tips@newstaco.com

Follow Victor Landa on Twitter: @vlanda