Two Border Patrol agents were assaulted in separate incidents near Tucson, Arizona on Tuesday, causing one agent to be hospitalized.
Both suspects were Guatemalan nationals who became violent upon being arrested by agents, according to a Customs and Border Protection statement.
The first incident took place when agents pursued four male suspects involved in human smuggling. Upon their arrest, one of the suspects became violent toward Border Patrol agents.
Multiple Border Patrol agents were assaulted, including one hospitalized, while trying to take illegal immigrants into custody Tuesday: https://t.co/W4DJf3nLxD #abc15 pic.twitter.com/hrkpZj0IP3
— ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) November 30, 2018
The suspect, a 25-year-old Guatemalan man, attempted to block his arrest by hurling dirt in the agent’s face, and using his belt and buckle as a weapon as he swung at agents. Once agents were able to restrain him, he spit in the face of one agent.
An Arizona man and two illegal immigrants originating from Mexico and Guatemala were also arrested in the encounter. The Arizona man had a prior record for smuggling.
The second incident took place late Tuesday when Border Patrol attempted the arrest of an illegal immigrant. An agent and his canine partner tracked down the immigrant in a remote area of the desert. It was there that the suspect, a 36-year-old Guatemalan man who was deported from the U.S. in May, became violent and landed several blows to the agent’s body. Ultimately, the agent was able to restrain and arrest the man.
Criminal charges were filed against both men for assault on a federal officer.
“One agent was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, and was released,” the statement added. It’s unclear which of the agents was hospitalized, or the extent of their injuries.
Border Patrol agent hospitalized after being assaulted by illegal immigrant. https://t.co/IxoIQOQtXU pic.twitter.com/BpLNJHWpH7
— FOX 10 Phoenix (@FOX10Phoenix) November 30, 2018
Another violent encounter took place a day earlier on Monday in California. There, agents responded to an incident involving two illegal immigrant men who breached the border and entered the U.S.
One of the men was arrested without incident, but the other aimed a loaded handgun at a Border Patrol agent, The Washington Times reported Thursday. Together, three agents were not able to remove the weapon from the suspect’s hand. It took one of the agents deploying his taser at the suspect to get him to remove his grip from the weapon and stop resisting.
After the man’s arrest, Border Patrol agents later discovered he was previously deported to Mexico five times over a period of 20 years, with the most recent deportation in Oct. 2017. Additionally, he had prior drug and firearm convictions and was deemed a violent offender.
Chief Agent for the Border Patrol’s San Diego division, Rodney Scott, said, “Our agents’ vigilance prevented this dangerous person from illegally re-entering our communities.”
On Saturday, Border Patrol agents also arrested a 29-year-old Honduras man near the Calexico Port of Entry for illegally entering the U.S. Upon the man’s admissions, agents learned the man is an active member of the Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13) gang and was a member of the migrant caravan that originated in Central America, according to a CBP statement.
