WATCH: Venezuelans Claim Persecution by Chilean Police After Crossing Texas Border
EAGLE PASS, Texas — A family of Venezuelan migrants walked through the shallow waters of the Rio Grande, meeting no resistance from law enforcement authorities on Friday. The group told Breitbart Texas they left their residence in Chile due to persecution from a Venezuelan paramilitary gang working in concert with local police.
The migrants crossed Friday. They were in search of Border Patrol agents to be taken into custody and initiate the asylum process. The main speaker adds that his father is an “American.”
The migrants say they lived in Chile but were being pursued by a violent gang known as the “Tupamaro.” One man says the Tupamaro are hunting Venezuelans disloyal to the Maduro government who seek refuge in Chile. The Tupamaro are considered a violent arm of the Venezuelan government. The formal name of the gang is “El Movimiento Tupamaro de Venezuela” or Tupamaro Movement of Venezuela.
The man says the national police in Chile, known as the Carbineros de Chile, are helping the gang to locate and persecute exiles.
Shortly after this group made landfall, another group of more than 120 mostly Venezuelan nationals entered in the same manner, less than one mile away.
A Border Patrol agent, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says the groups of mostly Venezuelan nationals are arriving daily in the immediate area. The agent says the sizes of the groups are getting larger–not a good sign for Fiscal Year 2022 which began this week.
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.
