EAGLE PASS, Texas — Del Rio Sector Division Chief of Operations Randy Clark discussed the treatment of migrants by cartel-connected human smugglers. The chief recalled an incident where a recently apprehended migrant woman said she let smugglers rape her to protect her daughter.

During a recent roundtable discussion between Del Rio Sector officials and Breitbart News, Chief Clark recalled an incident where a migrant woman told him she allowed her smugglers to rape her.

“I remember one lady saying, ‘I let them. I let them because I know they’re [human smugglers] going to do it and I didn’t want them to get my daughter,'” Clark said. “Those stories are out there. We know it’s part of the border life and it’s horrible.”

Clark’s comments came in response to a question from Breitbart News Border and Cartel Chronicles projects Director Brandon Darby about the treatment of migrant women by their cartel-connected human smugglers.

“Some estimates when it comes to the way females are treated, the women and girls, I think Doctors Without Borders has it at (about) 33 percent of the females are assaulted sexually along the journey,” Darby said. “Other estimates have it as high as 80 percent of females are sexually assaulted. What do you think the percentage is?”

“I think that’s a hard number to get to,” Clark responded. “It is a protected demographic. It’s very vulnerable, but they may not want to go to an authority to report something. I’ve heard first-hand accounts from folks we’ve had in custody.”

“It’s hard to quantify that,” the chief continued. “I would believe almost anything in that range — the 30 percent. I think it depends who you come with, if you have someone that’s capable of taking care of you, you might have some luck.”

“There’s nothing pleasant about that journey — from start to finish,” Clark explained. “There really isn’t. We see them at pretty much their most stressful point. Because they’ve made this journey and now they’re apprehended and now their probably not going to (be) let go. It’s at the height of their frustration. It’s pretty hard to witness.”

“I don’t think there’s a whole lot of compassion from the smugglers at any point of that journey,” Chief Clark concluded.

Full Panel Discussion:

Clark’s comments came during an 80-minute discussion between senior leadership of the Del Rio Sector and Breitbart News. The in-depth conversation covered the impact of recent policy changes on the number of migrants crossing the border illegally; the lack of physical barriers along this mostly unsecured section of the Mexican border with Texas; the abuses of migrants by the Mexican cartels and human smugglers; additional resources needed to achieve positive control of the sector; and the impact of the recent surge of migrant families crossing into this sector in record numbers.