A suspected human trafficker from South Texas is facing federal charges after he allegedly fired multiple times at a U.S. Border Patrol agent who tried to stop him in brush near the border.
The incident happened last week in a grassy area near the Texas border town of Progreso. According to a federal criminal complaint filed in Brownsville, Texas, Rafael Arriasola is charged with assaulting a federal officer and transporting an illegal immigrant.
Ariasola appeared before U.S. District Judge Karen Betancourt this week, who ordered him held without bail pending further hearings.
A group of Mexican migrants crossed the Rio Grande and got lost in the brush, according to a criminal complaint reviewed by Breitbart Texas. After a two-day trek, one of the migrants found a trailer and knocked on it, asking for help. A woman inside the trailer contacted her son, Ariasola, who offered to help the migrants get to Donna’s relatives’ house. Federal agents allege that Ariasola obtained a handgun and went with the migrants to search for the other migrants.
US Border Patrol agents searching the bush discovered the pair and attempted to arrest them. The migrants did not resist, but Arriasola yelled that they would send the agents to hell and began firing at one of the agents as he fled the scene.
The FBI responded to the scene after the shooting, and after a brief investigation, agents identified Ariasola and arrested him in Progreso on May 22. He is expected to remain in federal custody pending trial.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist at Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. twitter and FacebookContact details: email address.
