Tensions at the Southern Border are on the rise just days before President Trump takes office.
Last week, the captain and first mate of a Mexican fishing boat are in federal custody after brawling with U.S. Coast Guard members attempting to board their vessel, according to Border Report.
The clash occurred last Sunday off San Diego’s Mission Bay after a federal Joint Operations Center in Imperial Beach flagged the boat as suspicious.
The boat, with six occupants and an “excessive number” of fishing poles, was under surveillance by U.S. Border Patrol near Dana Launch. Agents observed four passengers disembarking, later identified as Mexican migrants. They were instructed to sit on the pier while agents searched for the boat’s operators.
The Border Report article says agents spotted two individuals hiding near public restrooms, but the pair fled back to the boat, quickly unmooring and escaping before they could be apprehended.
The Joint Operations Center tracked the boat remotely and dispatched a U.S. Coast Guard vessel to intercept it. About 20 minutes later, the Coast Guard caught up, using emergency lights and loudspeakers to order the boat to stop.
Instead of complying, the boat rammed the Coast Guard vessel, and its two occupants began hurling metal objects at crew members. The Coast Guard disabled the boat’s engines with machine gun fire and used pepper ball projectiles to subdue the suspects.
Coast Guard members boarded the boat, subdued the non-compliant suspects with pepper spray, and placed them in handcuffs. Oscar Eduardo Audelo Rodriguez and Francisco Brado Cota were taken to Naval Base Point Loma for medical evaluation and released the same day.
The pair declined to explain their actions or involvement with the migrants. According to court documents, three of the four migrants identified Audelo as the captain and Brado as the first mate, stating they paid $7,000 to $16,000 each to be smuggled into the U.S.
Audelo and Brado remain in custody, facing charges of smuggling migrants for profit. A detention hearing is scheduled for next week, the report says.
Tyler Durden
Mon, 01/13/2025 – 21:20
