Authorities still trying to identify caller who threatened law enforcement agents





Here are four undisputed facts of the border crisis and four myths that either ignore crucial information or are flat out false. The ongoing crisis involving an influx of Central American children has many shaking their heads on what is true and what is false.Here are four undisputed facts of the border crisis and four myths that either ignore crucial information or are flat out false. less



Here are four undisputed facts of the border crisis and four myths that The ongoing crisis involving an influx of Central American children has many shaking their heads on what is true and what is false.Here are four undisputed facts of the border crisis and four myths that ... more Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Authorities still trying to identify caller who threatened law enforcement agents 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

LA JOYA — The U.S. Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley continued its efforts to confirm the whereabouts of its off-duty agents on Friday amid an investigation into unverified claims that an agent was kidnapped on Christmas Day, the agency said.

About 8.a.m Thursday, a Spanish-speaking male placed the first of several 911 calls to La Joya police, threatening to kill police officers and ultimately a kidnapped Border Patrol agent, La Joya Police Chief Giovanni Hernandez said.

“He started threatening the dispatcher that he was going to come here to the La Joya Police Department and kill everybody,” Hernandez said. “One of the last calls he threatened to decapitate my communication officer.”

The caller, who identified himself as a member of a Mexican drug cartel, placed nine profanity-laced 911 calls to La Joya police over a 12-hour period, speaking in an accent familiar to the Texas-Mexico border and using at least two codes that police identified as specific to a northern Mexico cartel.

For more about the calls to La Joya police, read the story on ExpressNews.com or in the print edition.

anelsen@express-news.net

Twitter: @amnelsen

LA JOYA — Even as U.S. Border Patrol has accounted for all on-duty agents, it has yet to corroborate the authenticity of a 911 call to La Joya police Thursday, threatening officers and alleging a cartel member had kidnapped one of its agents, law enforcement authorities said.

Border Patrol continues efforts to account for all Rio Grande Valley sector agents, even those who are off-duty. It is coordinating with the Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Internal Affairs, the FBI, the La Joya PD and the government of Mexico regarding the original call, according to a Border Patrol statement. The RGV sector employs nearly 3,100 agents.

Around 8.a.m Christmas day, a Spanish-speaking male placed a 911 call to La Joya police, threatening officers and ultimately claiming to have kidnapped a Border Patrol agent, La Joya Police Chief Giovanni Hernandez said.

“He started threatening the dispatcher that he was going to come here to the La Joya Police Department and kill everybody,” Hernandez said. “One of the last calls he threatened to decapitate my communication officer.”

The caller, who claimed to be a member of a Mexican drug cartel, placed nine calls to La Joya police over a 12-hour period, using an accent familiar to the Texas-Mexico border, and at least two alphanumerical codes that police identified as specific to a "three letter cartel."

All calls were made from a 956 area code, but it’s possible calls were placed from the Mexican side of the border, Hernandez said.

"The very last call he tells us, 'Hey, I have a f------ immigration officer kidnapped, and we're going to kill him,’” Hernandez said.

Hernandez said his officers are taking precautionary measures against possible retaliation, following news reports about the threat.

“He was very aggressive in his demeanor, his tone of voice, his radio communication mannerisms, his strategic radio system usage sounded like people who mean business,” Hernandez said.

An FBI spokeswoman confirmed that the agency is coordinating with Border Patrol to further monitor the situation and determine the appropriate action, if any.

anelsen@express-news.net

Twitter: @amnelsen