(CNN) — A Border Patrol agent rescued a one-year-old boy at the US-Mexico border this week after he was abandoned by a smuggler, the US Border Patrol chief said Thursday. “Thanks to our agent’s quick response, the tragedy was averted,” said Chief Raúl Ortiz, who also tweeted a video of the rescue.
A one-year-old Guatemalan child was abandoned along the Colorado River Monday afternoon by a smuggler who took him across the border and then left him to fend for himself along the water’s edge. Thanks to our agent’s quick response, tragedy was averted! pic.twitter.com/mY2K7t59VE
— Chief Raul Ortiz (@USBPChief) March 23, 2023
The video shows what Border Patrol described as a smuggler holding the Guatemalan boy, swimming past a border barrier along the adjacent Colorado River. The adult is seen seating the child by the barrier and immediately returning to the river. A white Border Patrol truck pulls up quickly next to the abandoned child, and an agent pulls him inside.
Customs and Border Protection told CNN that the child has been identified, but the agency is unable to release his identity due to privacy regulations. “The child will be placed in the care of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement,” spokesman John Mennell said.
