Federal law enforcement in Puerto Rico gathered along the halls of a hospital Thursday to pay respects to a fallen federal agent who died after being shot by drug smugglers off the island’s coast.
At least 12 agents and officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection‘s Office of Field Operations, U.S. Border Patrol, and Air and Marine Operations lined up as the covered body of the deceased agent was escorted on a stretcher out of the hospital, according to video shared by Las Voces Del Sur Oficial on Facebook.
The identity of the CBP agent has not been released by the government. The agent was fatally shot Thursday morning after attempting to interdict drug smugglers on two boats 14 miles into the ocean.
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The United States maintains a heavy federal police presence in the U.S. territory because it has been, and remains, a top smuggling route for narcos moving cocaine from Colombia into the U.S.
One law enforcement source there said the agents interdicted the smugglers as they had been transferring drugs on board to another vessel.
