Two Men Charged With Attempting To Breach a Storm Drain To Smuggle Migrants

Two men have been charged in Texas after attempting to breach a storm drain near the Rio Grande to smuggle migrants.

Border Report detailed that the incident took place last month in Texas, when Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents encountered men using tools to access a storm drain system close to the Bridge of Americas port of entry.

The men became "combative" when confronted and one sought to flee on foot. Both were apprehended and taken to the Paso del Norte Border Patrol Processing Center, where they were identified as Mexican citizens unlawfully in the U.S.

One of the men, identified as Javier Esteban Obregon Flores, later told agents that smugglers in Juarez hired him to carry tools to the site and act as a lookout after entering the U.S. After entering the drain he heard his companion begin hitting concrete with the tools.

The other man, Jorge Solis Soto, said he had sought to be smuggled into the country but was $500 short. However, he was offered a discount if he cut the rebar blocking the storm drain tunnels. He was doing it when agents detained him.