Despite few available details, Trump rushes to exploit death of Border Patrol agent

Few details are publicly known regarding the circumstances of the death of a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent Sunday morning, following an incident while on patrol in southwest Texas:

Rogelio Martinez, 36, and his partner were responding to activity while on patrol in the Big Bend Sector, which runs along the US-Mexico border, and the partner reported they were both injured, the agency said. The agents were patrolling near Interstate 10, in the Van Horn station area of the sector. Customs officials would not say what type of activity the agents were responding to.

Other agents responded, provided medical care and transported both to a local hospital. CBP was later told Martinez had died, and his partner remains hospitalized. It was not clear what injuries they suffered. A Customs and Border Protection spokesman said Martinez was not shot.

Federal officials have still not said what kind of injuries the men suffered, or even so much as identified Martinez’s partner by name. “While it was unclear what happened,” the New York Times notes, Donald Trump used the agent’s death to promote his U.S./Mexico border wall. “We will seek out and bring to justice those responsible,” he tweeted. “We will, and must, build the Wall!"

Border Patrol Officer killed at Southern Border, another badly hurt. We will seek out and bring to justice those responsible. We will, and must, build the Wall!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2017

Trump wasn’t alone. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz both called the incident an “attack,” with the latter saying that "this is a stark reminder of the ongoing threat that an unsecure border poses to the safety of our communities and those charged with defending them.” Both men, however, were silent when CBP detained 10-year-old Rosamaria following emergency surgery.

“The F.B.I. was leading the investigation,” the NYT continued, “and a bureau spokeswoman said it planned to release more details about the episode on Monday. ‘We are still working hard putting the facts together,’ the spokeswoman said. ‘It’s a very active, fast-moving investigation.’”

Tuesday, Nov 21, 2017 · 5:50:55 PM +00:00 · Gabe Ortiz

According to an unconfirmed AP report, the Border Patrol agent may fallen to his death:

U.S. official with knowledge of the investigation into the death of a border patrol agent said that the surviving agent who radioed in for help doesn't remember what happened.

The official, who was briefed on the investigation but is not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Monday that Rogelio Martinez was found at the bottom of a 14-foot culvert and that investigators believe he may have fallen. The official said the incident happened after dark in an area that's known for drug activity and where agents often look for drugs in culverts.

A spokeswoman for the FBI, which is leading the investigation, said Monday in a statement that both agents were found late Saturday night in a culvert near Van Horn, Texas, and that both had traumatic head injuries.