Eagle Pass, Texas — Federal authorities at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry apprehended suspects in a shooting incident Saturday.
“The Eagle Pass POE Enforcement Team provides a unique inspection environment that includes both U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers from the Port of Entry and U.S. Border Patrol agents,” said Cynthia O. Rodriguez, CBP Port Director, Eagle Pass. “In this instance, they were able to apprehend two men, wanted by local authorities in connection with a recent shooting, before they could flee the country.”
Saturday evening, authorities at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry received an alert from the Maverick County Sheriff’s Office. The alert warned of two possibly-armed suspects involved in an assault that had resulted in a victim, shot multiple times, being airlifted to San Antonio.
The POE Enforcement Team was conducting outbound inspection operations at Camino Real International Bridge around 9:30 p.m. Saturday when a 1997 GMC pickup truck, matching the alert, arrived at the port of entry, bound for Mexico. Enforcement Team members identified the occupants of the vehicle as the two subjects sought by the Maverick County Sheriff’s Office. The two men, ages 23 and 24, both of Eagle Pass, were turned over to Maverick County Sheriff’s deputies.
The Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within U.S. Customs and Border Protection tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nation’s ports. CBP officers screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. Their mission also includes carrying out border-related duties, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration and trade laws, and protecting the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.
Working together, Office of Field Operations and U.S. Border Patrol are integral to the South Texas Campaign, which leverages federal, state and local resources to combat transnational criminal organizations.