Border agent dies and two others are 'gravely' injured following a shootout in major drug smuggling corridor off the coast of Puerto Rico

A border agent has died and two others are 'gravely' injured following a shootout off the coast of Puerto Rico early Thursday morning.

Federal officials say a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations unit was on routine control about 14 miles off the coast of Cabo Rojo at around 8am local time, when they were interdicting suspected smugglers.

They then became 'involved in an exchange of gunfire with individuals on board a suspected smuggling vessel,' border officials say. One of the suspected smugglers also died in the shooting.

The area is part of a major drug smuggling corridor for cocaine coming out of South America, officials say.

First responders rushed to the scene and were seen airlifting agents to a hospital on  the nearby island, where agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations unit were waiting, the Washington Examiner reports.

Two of the suspect smugglers were taken into custody. A Puerto Rico news station reports that the suspects are American citizens. During the investigation, authorities seized several bundles of cocaine, firearms and even the boat.

The FBI is now leading the investigation into the shooting, and Limary Cruz-Rubio, a spokeswoman for the San Juan office, told the New York Times the shooting is being investigated as an assault on a federal officer.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spoke about the tragedy in testimony before a Senate committee after learning of the shooting on Thursday, saying other agents on the scene were 'gravely injured.'

'These are brave members of our Air and Marine Operations within U.S. Customs and Border Protection,' he said. 'So the difficulty of this job cannot be compared to the difficulty that our frontline personnel face every day. Their bravery and selfless service should be recognized.'

Air and Marine Operations employs about 1,650 people and is one of the smaller units of CBP, the largest law enforcement agency in the United States that also includes the Border Patrol.

Over the past year, the unit seized 1.1 million pounds of narcotics, $73.1 million in illicit currency, made more than 122,000 arrests and recued 518 people, according to CBP figures.

The tragedy comes as federal officials fear a new surge in illegal US-Mexico border crossings could be imminent, after a federal judge ordered the lifting of a pandemic-era rule which rapidly expelled migrants.

'A federal judge has just ended Title 42 and the Biden Administration has done absolutely nothing to prepare for this outcome,' the National Border Patrol Council, the official union of the agency, recently tweeted. 'If you think things are bad now, just wait for the sh!t show that's coming.'

Ronny Jackson, the former White House doctor who now serves as a congressman representing Texas, urged his followers to pray for the Border Patrol. 'Title 42 was just ENDED and a new SURGE of illegals will now head for our southern border,' he said.

'PRAY for our brave Border Patrol agents, it's a SHAME that Biden won't lift a finger to support them. 49 days until we can STOP THE MADNESS in the House Majority!'

Greg Abbott, governor of his state, Texas, said it was a reckless move. 'This will further signal to cartels, human smugglers, & illegal immigrants that the border is wide open - inciting more violence & lawlessness. Disastrous,' he said.

Arizona congressman Andy Biggs also called it a 'grave mistake'. 'An activist judge legislating from the bench just blocked the usage of Title 42 at the border amid a historic crisis,' he said.

'This means millions of illegal aliens (many dangerous) will be allowed entry into the country. This decision is a grave mistake.'

And Marsha Blackburn, senator for Tennessee, said: 'Title 42 preserves our nation's sovereignty. 'Our country has every right to protect that sovereignty, and we must support policies that put our national security first.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11441047/Three-border-agents-shot-one-fatally-coast-Puerto-Rico.html

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