Mexican Cartel Smugglers Abandon Injured Teen in U.S. Border River

Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents rescued an injured 15-year-old girl who Mexican cartel-connected human smugglers abandoned in the middle of the Rio Grande.

Eagle Pass Station agents assigned to Marine Unit duties on March 11 came upon an injured girl abandoned in the Rio Grande. The agents rescued the teen and moved her to waiting emergency medical personnel, according to Del Rio Sector officials.

An ambulance transported the female to a hospital.

Agents identified the girl as a 15-year-old Honduran. Upon her medical release, she will be processed under current CBP guidelines to return home.

“Smugglers continue to show no concern for individuals attempting to illegally enter the United States,” Del Rio Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Doyle E. Amidon, Jr. said in a written statement. “The dedication and quick response of our agents prevented a potentially fatal situation for this injured child.”

Matt Perdie / Breitbart News

During a Breitbart News border tour in November, Del Rio Sector Assistant Chief Patrol Agent Brady Waikel said “nothing crosses the river in this area without a payment being made” to Mexican cartels.

“When you’re talking about people coming across and being rescued, and when you’re talking about deaths [while] crossing the border,” Chief Waikel told Breitbart News, “those transnational organizations — that’s the cause of all of that.”

“Nothing crosses the river in this area without a payment being made — without being directed by the cartels, by the smugglers,” the chief explained. “All of those organizations are what are pushing people across. They’re the ones directing them ‘cross here, cross there.’”

See the full interview with Del Rio Sector Border Patrol officials here.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.