Two Mexican drug smugglers are accused of using laser pointers to blind U.S. law enforcement helicopter pilots performing surveillance and interdiction operations at the U.S. border.
This week, federal authorities worked with Coahuila state police to arrest two men in Ciudad Acuna for pointing lasers at police helicopters, the FBI announced. The operation came after law enforcement pilots reported lasers for more than a year. There were numerous incidents where they were blinded or forced to take evasive actions.
The FBI, U.S. Border Patrol, and other agencies worked with the Coahuila government to track the location of the lasers and had Mexican authorities raid the area. Mexican authorities arrested two men. It remains unclear if they will face charges in Mexico. A laser can illuminate a cockpit and blind pilots, according to the FBI. The practice is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
Ciudad Acuna sits immediately south of Del Rio, Texas, and is an active human and drug smuggling corridor used by the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas. The criminal organization has, for years, taken advantage of lacking physical barriers in that remote border region. The shallow waters of the Rio Grande are typically the only obstacle.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.