The U.S. Coast Guard halted a human smuggling attempt off the San Diego coast on Jan. 5, after two men on a boat rammed a patrol vessel and resisted arrest, according to court documents. The incident began at a boat ramp near Mission Bay Drive Bridge, where Border Patrol agents detained four individuals who had exited a vessel.
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The four individuals, identified as Mexican nationals without legal documentation, told agents they had agreed to pay between $7,000 and $19,000 to be smuggled into the United States.
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Two men, later identified as Oscar Eduardo Audelo-Rodriguez and Francisco Brado-Cota, reboarded the vessel and fled the scene, ignoring commands to stop. The boat, which had fishing poles attached to disguise its purpose, was pursued by the Coast Guard. When intercepted, the men rammed the patrol vessel and threw metal objects at officers, court records said.
Coast Guard members responded by firing disabling rounds at the boat’s motor and deploying non-lethal pepper balls. Despite disabling the vessel, the men resisted arrest until officers boarded the boat and subdued them with pepper spray.
Audelo-Rodriguez, identified as the captain, and Brado-Cota, the co-captain, were taken into custody and transported to Naval Base Point Loma. They were medically cleared and placed in federal custody.
The Coast Guard did not provide comment on the incident.
According to officials, the agency encounters approximately 3,000 migrants attempting to enter the U.S. by sea annually and conducts about 1,400 boardings of high-risk vessels. Between the summer of 2021 and winter of 2023, the service detained more than 27,000 individuals in maritime smuggling cases.
Tags: California, Drug smuggling, Immigrant, Immigration, Mexico, migrants, San Diego, Trafficking, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S.-Mexico Border
[Ryan Robertson]
A DARING ESCAPE, A HIGH-SPEED CHASE ON THE WATER, AND A SMUGGLING OPERATION BROUGHT TO A HALT. NO, IT’S NOT A MIAMI VICE REBOOT IN THE WORKS–IT’S JUST THE COAST GUARD INTERCEPTING A BOAT OFF THE SAN DIEGO COAST.
IT HAPPENED ON JANUARY 5TH –AFTER TWO MEN ALLEGEDLY RAMMED A PATROL VESSEL AND ATTACKED OFFICERS DURING AN ATTEMPT TO FLEE. WE’RE LEARNING MORE FROM COURT DOCUMENTS WHICH DETAIL HOW THE DRAMATIC SCENE UNFOLDED, FROM A SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOAT RAMP TO THE OPEN WATERS.
BORDER PATROL AGENTS FIRST DETAINED FOUR PEOPLE AT A MISSION BAY BOAT RAMP. THEY WERE IDENTIFIED AS MEXICAN NATIONALS WITHOUT LEGAL DOCUMENTATION. TWO MEN, BELIEVED TO BE CREW MEMBERS, RETURNED TO THE BOAT AND FLED THE SCENE.
THAT’S WHEN THE COAST GUARD INTERCEPTED THE VESSEL, WHICH WAS DISGUISED WITH FISHING POLES—A TACTIC OFTEN USED IN SMUGGLING OPERATIONS. THE MEN IGNORED COMMANDS TO STOP, RAMMED THE COAST GUARD BOAT, AND THREW METAL OBJECTS AT GUARDSMEN.
AND IF YOU THOUGHT COAST GUARD VESSELS WEREN’T ARMED–THINK AGAIN. THE COAST GUARD CREWS FIRED DISABLING ROUNDS AT THE MOTOR OF THE FLEEING BOAT AND USED PEPPER BALLS TO SUBDUE THE SUSPECTS. THE MEN RESISTED UNTIL THE GUARDSMEN BOARDED AND USED PEPPER SPRAY TO GAIN CONTROL.
THE SUSPECTS, IDENTIFIED AS OSCAR EDUARDO AUDELO-RODRIGUEZ AND FRANCISCO BRADO-COTA, WERE ARRESTED AND TAKEN TO NAVAL BASE POINT LOMA. AUTHORITIES SAY THE FOUR DETAINED INDIVIDUALS PLANNED TO PAY BETWEEN 7-THOUSAND AND 16-THOUSAND DOLLARS TO BE SMUGGLED INTO THE U.S. THEY IDENTIFIED AUDELO-RODRIGUEZ AS THE CAPTAIN AND BRADO-COTA AS THE CO-CAPTAIN OF THE VESSEL.
THIS INCIDENT IS PART OF BROADER EFFORTS TO COMBAT HUMAN SMUGGLING. OFFICIALS SAY THE SERVICE DETAINS ROUGHLY 3-THOUSAND MIGRANTS BY SEA EACH YEAR AND BOARDS ABOUT 14-HUNDRED HIGH-RISK VESSELS. BETWEEN SUMMER 2021 AND WINTER 2023, OVER 27-THOUSAND PEOPLE WERE DETAINED IN MARITIME SMUGGLING CASES.
THE COAST GUARD ISN’T COMMENTING YET ON THIS SPECIFIC INCIDENT, BUT OPERATIONS LIKE THESE REMAIN A KEY PART OF SECURING U.S. BORDERS AND PREVENTING ORGANIZED SMUGGLING NETWORKS.
FOR MORE OF OUR UNBIASED, STRAIGHT FACT REPORTING – DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP TODAY, OR LOG ON TO SAN.COM.
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