Migrant smugglers are getting more desperate and violent — arming themselves, wearing body armor and even shooting at US border agents — to get their illegal clients from Mexico to California.
Recent increases in drastic tactics by coyotes, or people smugglers for hire, include an Aug. 18 incident in which a Border Patrol agent tried to stop a group of migrants crossing into California through the Otay Mountain Wilderness, US authorities said.
A suspected smuggler fired several shots at the agent, US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement, claiming the criminal’s desperation was fueled by the agency’s crackdown.
When fellow agents responded to the gunfire, they could see muzzle flashes coming from the group of immigrants, with a second shot aimed at the officers, authorities said.
The agents quickly took cover as the group of migrants ran back into Mexico. No agents were reported injured as a result of the incident.
“Smuggling organizations have become desperate and increased their level of violence because of the work done by US Border Patrol agents,” San Diego Sector Chief Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel said in a statement.
Armed individuals have repeatedly been spotted along the border fence of the Otay Mountain Wilderness in California. Customs and Border Protection
A group of migrants was dropped off by smugglers along the southern border last Wednesday. Daniel William McKnight
“Our agents are stopping smugglers from running their illegal business and this is a very dangerous response from them,” McGurk-Daniel said. “This display of callousness clearly shows that smugglers do not care about the safety of immigrants or law enforcement.”
Just days after the shooting, on August 22, a US National Guard officer saw an armed individual climbing a border fence in the Gunung Otay Wilderness.
Then a day later, two more armed suspects were seen in the area. But a sweep by border agents came up empty.
Officials have warned that as the crackdown on illegal crossings increases, so will the backlash from people smugglers. Daniel William McKnight
Both US and Mexican border officials have seen an increase in armed smugglers taking migrants across the border. Mark Peterson
US and Mexican officials said they were coordinating to try to capture the gunman.
“These incidents and individuals pose a great danger to agents patrolling the area as well as immigrants attempting to enter illegally,” McGurk-Daniel said.
The joint effort comes as Mexico’s Migration Institute warns that its agents cracking down on illegal border crossings have encountered heavily armed smugglers in recent months, adding that they have also seen coyotes shoot border agents.
Earlier this month, a trio of men were spotted crossing the border into Texas armed with rifles and equipped with body armor.
In the same incident last June, five suspected members of the Del Noreste Cartel were arrested in the same area after illegally crossing the border armed with rifles and tactical equipment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
