Conflicting Reports After Texas National Guard Member Shoots Across Mexican Border, Wounding Mexican Man in Juarez

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

The Texas Military Department confirmed on Monday that a member of the Texas Army National Guard discharged his weapon during a “border-related” incident on Saturday evening, August 26, 2023, in South El Paso, Texas.

A man on the Mexican side of the border said he heard gunshots and was struck in the leg near the Bridge of the Americas. The man told reporters in Juarez, Mexico, that border agents shot him from the US side.

The shooting occurred about 8:50 p.m. Saturday on the Mexican banks of the Rio Grande near Rafael Pérez Serna Avenue, which is adjacent to the Bridge of the Americas, according to official reports. The shooting was reported to Juárez’s 911 center at 8:51 p.m. on Saturday, according to the State Public Security Secretary of Chihuahua.

Conflicting Reports

The victim, identified by the Mexican authorities as Darwin José García, 37, originally from Veracruz in eastern Mexico, was shot in his right leg. After being treated by paramedics on the scene, he was transported to a Juárez hospital, where he was later released, according to various Juárez officials.

On Monday, the Border Network of Human Rights, a migrant advocacy group, reported that the Texas National Guard hit a 22-year-old man across the border in Mexico.

The man told reporters he was practicing sports with a group as migrants attempted to cross the border. He said he heard gunshots and felt one of his legs was hot before realizing he was wounded.

However, news accounts in Mexico identified the wounded man as a Mexican migrant who was attempting to reach the United States from Ciudad Juárez when he was struck by gunfire from US authorities.

Initial reports had that he was shot at by Border Patrol agents, however, the CBP denied their involvement, stating that the Texas National Guard was involved and that CBP agents do not carry larger caliber weapons than the military does.

Possible Knife Attack on Migrants

According to one of the CBP officials, who was briefed on what happened, the Texas Guard member opened fire after three men on the Mexican side of the border started attacking a group of migrants with a knife as the migrants attempted to cross the river.

While it is extremely unusual for U.S. personnel to fire a weapon into Mexico, the soldier’s use of force would probably be justified if the lives of the migrants were in immediate danger, the official said.

Criminal gangs and cartels typically charge hundreds or thousands of dollars to migrants seeking to cross into the United States, and the smugglers enforce their 'toll-collection' system with violence.

US Authorities Responses

US Border Patrol officials in El Paso said the incident involved the Texas National Guard and referred any inquiries to the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

In a statement, TMD and Texas DPS spokespersons said “the incident is under investigation” and “more information will be made available as the investigation progresses.”

Special Agent Jeanette Harper, spokesperson for the FBI in El Paso, confirmed that the shooting investigation is being led by the Texas Rangers, with US Homeland Security Investigations “involved for the non-documented individuals.”

Harper said the FBI is serving as a liaison between state and Mexican authorities.

The Chihuahua State Attorney General’s Office would only say that a male had been injured in the vicinity of the international bridge and that investigations were being carried out to find out where the man was when he was shot. The attorney general’s office did not provide any other details.

Border Network of Human Rights Response

On Monday, the Border Network of Human Rights, a migrant advocacy group, said the man from Veracruz, Mexico, was shot in the leg while working out along the border on Saturday evening.

Video from the scene showed paramedics treating the man on the ground along the border before putting him into an ambulance.

BNHR has called for the US Department of Justice to investigate, the immediate removal of all Texas National Guard troops and DPS troopers from border communities, and for Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star to cease.

“We are deeply appalled by the actions of the Texas National Guard, which under Abbott’s leadership has continued to usurp federal authority and unleash unnecessary chaos at our southern border. The use of disproportionate lethal force is the result of the disastrous Operation Lone Star,” BNHR Executive Director Fernando García said in a statement.

Shooting incidents in which US forces have fired into Mexican territory are generally rare. Several prominent Republicans, including multiple 2024 Republican presidential candidates have called for authorization for the use of US military force against the Mexican cartels, in Mexico.

Operation Lone Star

The US Border Patrol was involved in 6 cross-border shootings between 2010 and 2012, but the agency has not had an incident since then. This was the second time this year that Texas National Guard personnel assigned to Operation Lone Star have shot someone. 

The other incident occurred in the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas on Jan. 15, 2023. Soldiers confronted a group of migrants in an abandoned house. One man suffered a gunshot wound after a struggle, but the injuries weren’t life-threatening.

Operation Lone Star is a multi-billion-dollar border security initiative launched by Governor Abbott in March 2021. It sent DPS troopers and the National Guard to the border to prevent migrant smuggling and drug trafficking. Abbott blames the Biden administration for the crisis at the border, and Abbott has repeatedly said that Texas has the sovereign authority under the US Constitution to secure its border with Mexico. Abbott, as well as Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, has bussed migrants to other states including California, New York, and Washington, DC.

Since the launch of Operation Lone Star, the multi-agency effort has led to over 420,800 illegal immigrant apprehensions and more than 33,600 criminal arrests, with more than 30,500 felony charges reported. In the fight against fentanyl, Texas law enforcement has seized over 426,000,000 lethal doses of fentanyl during the border operation.

“Texas will not stand idly by while Biden’s open border policies wreak havoc on our nation,” Abbott tweeted (X'd?) on Sunday in reference to the support Operation Lone Star received from fellow Republican governors.

Most recently, Texas installed marine barriers in the form of giant buoys in the middle of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas. Two reported migrant deaths have occurred on or near the barriers. The Biden administration is suing to force Texas to remove a floating barrier system Abbott has installed in the Rio Grande to block migrants from wading or swimming across the river.

US Border Patrol Agents Shot at by Smugglers Near San Diego

US Border Patrol agents were shot at recently while attempting to apprehend a group of suspected migrants illegally entering the United States. In another incident, armed suspects were spotted operating in the border area.

“Smuggling organizations are becoming desperate and escalating their level of violence because of the work being performed by US Border Patrol agents,” said San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel. “Our agents are preventing smugglers from conducting their illicit business and this is their very dangerous response. This callous display clearly shows that smugglers do not care about the safety of migrants or law enforcement.”

On August 18, 2023, a Border Patrol Agent encountered a group of suspected migrants in the Otay Mountain Wilderness north of the Otay-Mesa border area. While attempting to apprehend the group an unidentified individual fired multiple shots in the direction of the agent.

Additional agents responding to the area heard gunshots and observed muzzle flashes coming from the vicinity of the group. Moments later, agents heard a second volley of shots directed at them. The agents took cover as the group and the assailant returned to Mexico.

No agents were injured. The San Diego Sector Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) was deployed to secure the area and to clear it of any suspects or weapons, however, none were found.

Source El Paso Times, CBS, Washington Post, Border Report, CBP, KTSM 9