A senior Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official informed Breitbart Texas that Border Patrol agents will deploy to the Mexico-Guatemala boundary to respond to large migrant caravans organizing in Central America.
The senior source, speaking on a condition of anonymity, says Border Patrol will deploy 300 agents to assist in the endeavor and will likely play a role in gathering intelligence and work in advisory roles. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced on Monday that Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras are focusing efforts to disperse the caravan through conventional troop deployments.
On Monday, Psaki said, “the objective is to make it more difficult to make the journey, and make crossing the borders more difficult.”
The efforts are the results of discussions with Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. Roughly 10,000 Mexican troops will remain on their southern border to curb illegal entries.
Guatemala will deploy 1,500 police and military personnel to its southern border as part of the operation announced by the White House. Honduras added 7,000 police and military to its border “to disperse a large contingent of migrants.” Guatemala will also set 12 checkpoints along the migratory route through that country.
The law enforcement source says the number of apprehensions along the southern U.S. border with Mexico have started to stabilize, potentially as a result of these efforts. This is not a first for Border Patrol–although the number of expected deployments is higher than past years. Previously, Border Patrol agents and intelligence purposes have assisted as advisors and to conduct investigative activities to combat transnational criminal organizations, otherwise known as cartels.
UPDATE – April 14, 2021
Border Patrol is deploying extra resources to South Texas to deal with the current influx of migrants and unaccompanied children. Approximately 300 agents are diverting from interior and Canadian border stations.
As a result, prior plans to send agents to the Mexic0-Guatemala border were set aside.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.