EXCLUSIVE — At least five people were involved in a maritime shooting between U.S. border agents and drug smugglers that took place off the coast of Puerto Rico early Thursday morning, the Washington Examiner was first to report Thursday.
The shootout happened 14 miles off the coast of northwestern Puerto Rico. Three federal agents were shot, one of whom died, according to a statement from Customs and Border Protection.
The agents were from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection‘s Air and Marine Operations arm. AMO agents work the air and sea to patrol for human and drug smugglers. The incident took place around 8:00 a.m. local time, one hour ahead of Eastern time.
The agents were “involved in an exchange of gunfire with individuals on board a suspected smuggling vessel upon approach 14 miles off the coast of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico,” CBP confirmed to the Washington Examiner.
One law enforcement source there said the agents interdicted the smugglers as they had been transferring drugs on board to another vessel. Two men were taken into federal custody, according to a local news outlet.
BIDEN’S BORDER NUMBERS FOR OCTOBER BREAK RECORD WITH 277,464 ENCOUNTERS
SCOOP: CBP sources say 5 U.S. border agents shot, including one fatally, by narcos off the coast of Puerto Rico
The agents are not Border Patrol, but from Customs & Border Protection’s Air & Marine Operations arm.
The agents were taken back to land and life-flighted.@CBPAMO pic.twitter.com/5wQdXXmxgw
— Anna Giaritelli (@Anna_Giaritelli) November 17, 2022
First responders surged resources to the scene and life-flighted agents to the island, where they were taken to the hospital, according to video first obtained by the Washington Examiner.
“The marine agents suffered various gunshot injuries as a result. The agents are being airlifted by CBP and Coast Guard to the Puerto Rico Trauma Center,” according to CBP.
Three male Puerto Rican residents were taken into FBI custody mid-Thursday and arrested as suspects in the murder and assaults of the three agents.
Nelson Marlon Rivera Suarez, 45, and Osvaldo Hernandez Camacho, 35, were walked past a crowd by police from several federal agencies, according to ABC 5 Puerto Rico reporter Limarys Suarez.
A third suspect, 24-year-old Edgardo Luis Matos Santos of Ponce, Puerto Rico, was arrested shortly afterward.
ACTUALIZACIÓN- Edgardo Luis Matos Santos, de 24 años y del residencial Del Portugués en Ponce, oficialmente es el tercer arrestado y uno de los presuntos gatilleros q disparó esta mañana contra agentes federales de CBP en medio de intervención en altamar en la zona de Cabo Rojo pic.twitter.com/mmb7RfG6Av
— Limarys Suárez (@Limarys_Suarez) November 17, 2022
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, cited the report during a hearing on threats to the homeland Thursday.
“Ranking member Portman mentioned the tragic loss of one of our front-line personnel. Several others were gravely wounded. I was briefed on the situation very early this morning,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said during a hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Thursday. “These are brave members of our Air and Marine Operations within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, so the difficulty of this job cannot be compared to the difficulty that our front-line personnel face every day — and their bravery and selfless service should be recognized.”
Federal agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations were on the scene as agents arrived on the island, and the incident is under investigation.
CBP’s AMO arm is separate from the Border Patrol, whose agents work on land between the ports of entry, and Office of Field Operations, federal officers who inspect people, vehicles, and goods entering the country at air, land, and sea ports of entry.
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Update: A previous version of this story stated that five agents were shot. That number was later clarified to three agents.
