We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.
The United States Border Patrol issued a warning to its officers to prepare for potential gunfire following reports that a Mexican cartel had issued a hit against agents.
A Border Patrol memo from Thursday, obtained by NewsNation, stated that the San Diego Sector Intelligence Unit received an alert on December 4 “regarding a possible threat” to agents stationed at the Imperial Beach and Chula Vista Border Patrol Stations.
‘They fear no one anymore, especially the US law enforcement.’
“Information received indicated top cartel leaders ordered the shooting towards agents in response and retaliation for an incident that occurred,” it read.
The memo referred to a November 27 incident in which a Border Patrol officer struck an illegal immigrant with a patrol vehicle. According to the agency, the individual was a cartel member.
Video footage of the incident showed a group of men attempting to scale the border wall. NewsNation reported that these men were aiding another person in unlawfully crossing the border when a Border Patrol agent, responding to the breach, struck the alleged cartel member.
The agency stated that the driver was fixated on two other individuals who were actively scaling the wall when he hit the man.
“Therefore, cartel leaders are angered, claiming the incident occurred without cause or remorse,” the Border Patrol’s memo stated. “The information received indicated the shooting could possibly occur over the next few days.”
The agency advised agents to remain vigilant.
NewsNation’s Ali Bradley reported that activists have called for the Border Patrol agent who struck the suspected cartel member to be fired. The incident is still under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
“Sources within border patrol leadership tell me that anytime the cartel threatens to shoot an agent it should be taken seriously and the san diego Sector should be on high alert,” Bradley wrote in a post on X.
The man who was struck “got up and ran back to Mexico,” according to Bradley.
CBP confirmed that two of the men were arrested in connection with the “human smuggling incident.” It is unclear if the man who was hit by the patrol vehicle was one of those detained.
The Sinaloa Cartel previously issued an order for its members to shoot at Border Patrol agents in Texas after its co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada was arrested.
Victor Avila, a former Department of Homeland Security agent, told NewsNation, “This is the difference of the evolution of the cartels. They fear no one anymore, especially the U.S. law enforcement.”
“We know that they have no regard, and they do whatever they want in Mexico, and they’re running a parallel government over there,” he stated. “In fact they do have the resources, and in fact they do have the capabilities and will use them against us.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!