Two CBP agents in California face drug trafficking charges for allegedly working with Mexican drug cartel

Federal prosecutors allege that two agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations worked with an unnamed drug cartel for years, allowing the criminal organization to move large quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin through their inspection lanes, according to court documents.

Jesse Clark Garcia and Diego Bonillo are two CBP agents named in a criminal complaint out of the U.S. Southern District of California charging them with drug trafficking and drug trafficking conspiracy; both men have been in custody since May. Alex Riggins first reported the case from the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The two agents allegedly worked with smugglers in Mexico to get certain vehicles loaded with drugs through their inspection lane. Prosecutors allege they were able to let the smugglers pass freely in exchange for hefty bribes of tens of thousands of dollars. Details in Riggins’ story indicate that the CBP agents spent thousands of dollars on luxury fashion items, European vacations and expensive boxing chairs in Las Vegas.

The criminal complaint states that in April 2021, a woman drove a Kia Soul into Garcia’s lane at the Port of Tecate. The woman had multiple cars ahead of her when a lane opened up. CBP officers directed her into the lane, where authorities found 140 pounds of cocaine and fentanyl and 25 pounds of methamphetamine. As part of the investigation, authorities learned that the woman was constantly walking through Garcia’s lane and that she would not cross when he was not on duty. Court documents list several other crossings that appear to show that both Garcia and Bonillo worked with smugglers to wave them through their inspection lanes.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist at Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and further FacebookHe can be reached at [email protected].