Two Mexican Cops Seek Asylum From Cartel Violence at California Border Crossing

"Anonymous" for Borderland Beat; Border Report

An unidentified father and daughter, previously serving as police officers in Mexico, share their story with a Border Report team before heading to the U.S. to seek asylum. (Jorge Nieto/Special for Border Report)

Two former police officers from Mexico faced a harrowing ordeal that began in October when a cartel kidnapped and subjected them to torture. The father-daughter duo, both employed by the same police department, disclosed to Border Report that their lives took a drastic turn when a cartel entered their town, coercing law enforcement officers to collaborate.

In recounting their traumatic experience, the officers, whose identities and specific details about their residence and destination in the U.S. remain confidential as per their request and Border Report's agreement, revealed the distressing circumstances.

The female officer narrated the brutality.

“They started beating us, torturing us, they put a bag over my head and started to suffocate me,” said the female police officer. “They pointed a gun at my stomach saying they were going to shoot me unless me and my father agreed to work with them.”

She mentioned that the assault continued for a few hours until their captors eventually departed.

At that juncture, they successfully fled from the rear of the residence where they were held, making their way into a verdant hillside and spending the night amidst the jungle.

As dawn broke, they hurried back to their residence, grabbing a few essentials while persuading two additional family members to accompany them. Initially, they sought refuge in a relative's home in the state of Jalisco, where they collected funds and essential items. Subsequently, the daughter, along with her mother and a sibling, separated from the father until Christmas when they reunited in Tijuana.

Following several weeks at the Agape Shelter, they successfully crossed the border on Monday morning to initiate the asylum-seeking process.

They utilized PedWest border crossing at the San Ysidro Port of Entry to enter the U.S.

"We can never go back," to woman said, expressing fear for their relatives who remain in their hometown.

The officers recounted how their once peaceful and quiet community had been spared from cartel activities and violence until a few months ago when an undesirable element entered the area. The father, a police officer for 19 years, highlighted the honesty and hard work of their police department before the unsettling changes.

They recounted the tragic incident where 13 fellow officers, including their two supervisors, were killed by organized crime after refusing to collaborate with the cartel. News reports from late October confirmed an ambush in Guerrero resulting in the deaths of 13 police officers.

The daughter expressed gratitude, saying, "If not for the grace of God, we would’ve been killed too."

The officers, along with their family members, expressed their intention to reside with relatives in the U.S., specifically in a city on the East Coast. Similar to many asylum-seekers, they have been assigned court dates to initiate their cases, a process that may extend over several years before resolution.

Sources: Border Report