Smugglers Drop Mom, 2 Kids From Atop 30-Foot Border Wall by Rope: Border Patrol
Border patrol agents blamed the smugglers for endangering the lives of five undocumented migrants. Last Thursday, border patrol agents witnessed smugglers lowering a woman and two children on a section of a 30-foot border wall, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported.
The incident happened at around 3:15 a.m. when camera operators initially observed a man being lowered down the border wall using a rope.
It can be recalled that a video surfaced on the internet showing two toddlers being dropped at the border wall by smugglers late last month. Recently, the two kids were reported to have been reunited with their parents in New York City.
READ NEXT: Smugglers Drop Migrant Children From Atop 14-Foot U.S.-Mexico Border Barrier
Border Patrol Agents and Undocumented Migrants
The said incident that involved a mother and her two children being lowered by smugglers happened about three miles west of California's Calexico West Port of Entry, Fox News reported. The 32-year-old woman was with her two kids, a two-year-old girl and a six-year-old boy. They were identified as undocumented migrants from Venezuela.
"These heartless, greedy smugglers continue to endanger the lives of undocumented individuals for money," said Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino in a statement.
In total, border patrol agents took into custody three adults and two children. The undocumented individuals were then transported to the El Centro Station Processing Center for further processing.
ABC News reported that the two other adults were a 28-year-old man and a 31-year-old man. They were both undocumented persons from Venezuela who had no relation to the mother and two kids.
"We were lucky that the mother and her two children, as well as the other two men, were not dropped from the 30-foot border wall," said Bovino.
Smugglers Lowering Down the Venezuelan Migrants
Camera operators at the El Centro Station's Remote Video Surveillance System initially saw a man being lowered down the border wall using a rope and then noticed another man being dropped with a child clinging to his back.
Subsequently, the woman holding another child was lowered by the smugglers down the border wall into the U.S. Aside from the rope, officials noted that camera operators also saw three smugglers providing a ladder to climb the fence on the Mexican side.
"Smugglers often use this tactic to minimize their own risk of injury," Bovino noted. He added that smugglers are willing to place others in jeopardy, including children.
ABC News reported that about 23,444 children are under the custody of CBP and the Department of Health and Human Services as of Friday.
The news outlet also mentioned the steadily rising flow of migrants arriving from Central America, triggering a humanitarian crisis near the southern border.
The border patrol agents that no one was reported hurt among the five Venezuelan individuals. Bovino urged those looking to hire these smugglers to consider the extreme dangers of crossing the border illegally into the U.S.
READ MORE: Ecuador Children Dropped by Smugglers in the US Mexico Border Reunite With Parents
WATCH: 2 Children Lowered Over US-Mexico Border Wall by Rope - From ABC News
Subscribe to Latin Post!
Sign up for our free newsletter for the Latest coverage!