Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents made a shocking discovery after stopping a suspicious vehicle while patrolling a rural highway near Eagle Pass, Texas. When agents inspected a portable plastic water tank commonly used on ranches in the area, they found four people hiding inside the narrow space.
The incident occurred on September 14, after agents encountered a 2007 Ford F-150 pickup truck traveling on the rural highway near the U.S.-Mexico border. Eagle Pass South Station agents could not easily remove the people from the enclosed container without enlarging the opening with power tools.
The vehicle, traveling on a road notorious for human and narcotics smuggling, drew the agents’ suspicions and was stopped shortly after being spotted. After speaking with the driver, agents inspected the vehicle and noticed a large plastic water tank in the bed of the pickup truck. After discovering the four people in the tank, agents extracted and interviewed them.
Agents determined the four people were illegally in the United States and were being transported in violation of federal law. The four included two Bolivian nationals, one Cuban national, and one Colombian citizen. According to the Border Patrol, none of the illegal aliens needed medical assistance and were transported to the Border Patrol station in Uvalde, Texas, and processed for removal.
The driver, a 19-year-old United States citizen, now faces felony charges for transporting illegal aliens. ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) took over the unidentified suspect for further investigation and prosecution.
Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony “Scott” Good commented on the rescue of the illegal aliens, saying, “Smugglers don’t care for the safety of those they see as mere human cargo. Putting people in confined spaces with no means of escape is dangerous and barbaric. If not for the actions of our highly trained agents, this incident could have resulted in tragedy.”
As reported by Breitbart Texas, in recent weeks the Border Patrol in the Del Rio Sector has thwarted several illegal alien smuggling attempts in which human cargo was hidden within confined spaces on trains. The dangerous method of smuggling humans by concealing them within confined spaces is a sign of desperation on the part of cartel smugglers, according to sources within the Border Patrol.
According to CBP, Border Patrol apprehensions for the month of August along the U.S.-Mexico border remained well below 10,000, marking the 16th straight month of zero illegal alien releases at the southwest border. Correlating with the significant reduction in Border Patrol apprehensions, as reported exclusively by Breitbart Texas, known Got-Aways recorded by the agency have dropped 98 percent from peak Biden-era border crisis levels.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.