The State Department and the U.S. Border Patrol on Wednesday described as a 'misunderstanding' a Sunday night incursion of Mexican soldiers into Arizona, where they held a Border Patrol agent at gunpoint until backup agents responded to assist.

During a press briefing in Washington, State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said U.S. officials were aware of the incident and had brought it to the attention of the Mexican government, but that the encounter 'stemmed from a momentary misunderstanding as to the exact location of the Mexican-U.S. border.' .... there have been about 40 similar incursions along the 1,957-mile border this fiscal year. .... Since 1996, there have been more than 200 confirmed incursions by the Mexican military into the U.S.