A small scandal has popped up involving Border Chief Jason Owens. It seems that Jason and 15 others went down to Mexico for Jason’s birthday. Because of security clearances, they had to notify our government of their travel plans, and it seems likely that Mexico was notified of their arrival too [Border Patrol officials investigated for attending tequila tycoon Don Julio’s grandson’s raging booze-filled parties in Mexico, Daily Mail, May 17, 2024].
While there, Owens and Rio Grande Valley Chief Gloria Chavez met with the heirs of the Don Julio tequila distillery.
The two businessmen are Francisco Javier González, a Mexican tequila mogul whose grandfather founded Don Julio tequila, and Eduardo Garza Robles, a Mexican-American who operates a customs broker offering international cargo services called Uni-Trade.
Owens and Chavez were already under investigation for their relationships with the González and now officials are probing their connections to the international trade broker, Robles, who introduced the three.
Two leaders in the Border Patrol who are under investigation for their ties to a Mexican tequila company are now also being looked into for their relationships with an international businessman involved in cross-border trade, NBC News reports say. https://t.co/nsxeSKkQ3I
— NBC 23 RGV (@kveotv23) May 19, 2024
They do appear to be having a grand old time in the picture of the event, via the Daily Mail, above.
However, this little adventure has resulted in the cancellation of the Border Patrol’s 100-year anniversary gala [Tequila scandal expose forced Border Patrol to cancel 100-year anniversary gala , by Anna Giaritelli, Washington Examiner, May 20, 2024].
🔥BREAKING EXCLUSIVE. from @OldPatrolHQ @BorderPatrolHQ @USBPChief
— BWD by Old Patrol HQ (@OldPatrolHQ) May 17, 2024
Chief Jason Owens just tweeted this.
“The gala event planned for May 25th in El Paso celebrating the Border Patrol’s 100 years of history has been canceled. All other events will proceed as planned.”
Except… pic.twitter.com/6OZaQha85g
Really, it’s just the cancellation of the gala dinner on the last night of the event, not all the events. Nevertheless, as the anonymous BP Agent comments in the article,
“Why is it OK for the [Defense Department] but not the Border Patrol?” one insider said, adding that the Marine Corps and Army hold annual galas that are paid for by nonprofit organizations and sponsors who have government contracts. “This is the administration coming after the Border Patrol.”
The Border Patrol was founded (of course) in 1924 when Prohibition was going on and the Immigration Act of 1924 kicked off. It was a good year for immigration enforcement. El Paso and Detroit were the first locations for Border Patrol stations. 100 years later, the cancellation of the gala seems fitting with the way things are going. Ostensibly, according to the Washington Examiner article, CBP claims that no political appointees were involved in the decision. I’m a little skeptical of that.
Supposedly, retired Chief Rodney Scott and former acting director of ICE Tom Homan tried to save the event by working behind the scenes with no luck.
Retired Chief Rodney Scott and Tom Homan attempt to salvage the US Border Patrol Centennial Gala https://t.co/xDdmUf5pXh
— BWD by Old Patrol HQ (@OldPatrolHQ) May 18, 2024
It appears other events will be going on as planned. Just not the gala on the last day.
Personally, I believe the administration loves sticking it to the Border Patrol. They see us as the enemy. The cancellation of the gala is a fitting metaphor for where the Border Patrol is today.
