On Monday, a pilot with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was killed in a helicopter crash close to the U.S.-Mexico border in California.
The unidentified Air Interdiction agent had been conducting a security mission when the helicopter suddenly went down in the middle of a field in Potrero, California, in San Diego County, according to a statement from the CBP. The crash is still under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB).
“On December 16, a CBP Air and Marine Operations aircraft on a border security mission was involved in an aviation mishap in the vicinity of Potrero, California,” a CBP spokesman explained in the statement. “Tragically, a CBP Air Interdiction Agent – the pilot and sole occupant of the aircraft – was pronounced deceased at the scene. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.”
NEW: CBP confirms one of their agents was killed in a helicopter crash near the border in San Diego County today.
CBP statement:
“On December 16, a CBP Air and Marine Operations aircraft on a border security mission was involved in an aviation mishap in the vicinity of…
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) December 17, 2024
According to Border Report, the CBP agent’s helicopter crashed in the middle of a hemp farm’s field. “The crash was reported around 11:20 a.m. in a private field owned by the CBD farm, Sol Valley Ranch, near Round Potrero Road in the census-designated area of Potrero,” the report noted.
The victim was an Air Interdiction Agent, who are tasked with performing “perform air law enforcement operations involving the detection, prevention, interdiction, and apprehension of terrorist, terrorist weapons and other contraband and persons from illegally entering or attacking the United States.”
This news comes amid an ongoing fight in California over whether law enforcement should be allowed to cooperate with federal agents, such as members of CBP or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in their deportation efforts in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.
The San Diego sector of the border has become one of the most popular areas for illegal border crossings, with more than 37,000 illegal aliens crossing in that area in April alone.
While CBP is tasked with controlling border crossings, radical leftist lawmakers in California have been desperately trying to counteract border security. Last week, Republican San Diego County Board Supervisor Jim Desmond spoke to NewsNation about the ongoing crisis in the area, noting that it is one of the worst sectors in the U.S. when it comes to human trafficking and drug trafficking.
The San Diego County Board voted last week by a margin of 3 to 1 to turn the county into a “super sanctuary” county, which would bar the San Diego Sheriff’s Department from notifying ICE about illegal aliens who had committed violent crimes. While this vote isn’t entirely surprising considering it happened in deep-blue California, the sheriff’s reaction was pretty shocking.
San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez responded by confirming that she would be disregarding the vote, as the board has no control over sheriff’s office policy.
“The Sheriff’s Office will not change its practices based on the Board resolution and policy that was passed at today’s meeting,” Martinez explained in a statement. “The Board of Supervisors does not set policy for the Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff, as an independently elected official, sets the policy for the Sheriff’s Office. California law prohibits the Board of Supervisors from interfering with the independent, constitutionally and statutorily designated investigative functions of the Sheriff, and is clear that the Sheriff has the sole and exclusive authority to operate the county jails.”
