Two top rated Border Patrol officers are under investigation after they partied with and had been hosted by a wealthy Mexican tequila maker who hoped to make a Border Patrol-branded tequila, a few resources common with the probe explained to NBC Information.
The resources reported the relationship involving distiller Francisco Javier González and Border Patrol main Jason Owens and Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol sector main Gloria Chavez has raised inquiries about no matter if the officials disclosed their make contact with with a foreign nationwide, a need for those people who receive top security clearances, and whether they approved nearly anything that could be a violation of moral rules. The Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Accountability, the agency’s interior watchdog, is investigating.
In photos posted on social media this February, Owens and Chavez have been noticed in Jalisco, Mexico, with González at Tequila Casa de los González, his family’s distillery intricate.
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Their connection stretches again to at the very least July 2023, when González hosted a bash for Customs and Border Safety management in Laredo, Texas, two Department of Homeland Safety officials said. González is the grandson of the founder of Don Julio tequila, a main global manufacturer, and his relatives remains outstanding in the business.
In accordance to two resources familiar with the probe, at some level, González and the Border Patrol leaders talked about making a Border Patrol-branded tequila for the 100th anniversary of the Border Patrol, to be celebrated at a multi-day function in El Paso, Texas, later this thirty day period.
The Border Patrol tequila job has been shelved amid the ongoing CBP investigation, a few sources informed NBC News.
A spokesperson for CBP did not say no matter if Owens and Chavez disclosed their get hold of with González or how they compensated for their travel to Mexico. Jalisco, known for its tequila business, is a two-hour flight from San Antonio, Texas.
In a assertion, a spokesperson for CBP mentioned, “CBP has self-confidence in our senior leaders and retains them to the highest expectations of integrity and professionalism. Regular with our motivation to accountability, we comprehensively look into all allegations and acquire suitable action to address any challenges discovered throughout the study course of investigations. CBP will proceed to fortify our dedication to the agency’s benchmarks at all ranges.”
González and his enterprise, Tequila Reserva de los González, did not answer to requests for remark on Owens and Chavez, their stop by to Jalisco, the Laredo get together or designs for a Border Patrol tequila.
Whilst Border Patrol tequila is now off the menu, the agency is nevertheless getting ready for its 100th anniversary celebration in El Paso later on this thirty day period. A routine posted online contains two golfing tournaments, a parade and a black-tie gala about a number of days in late May well.
The event’s web-site lists 4 sponsors. A few are substantial CBP contractors that merged have gained hundreds of millions in government contracts.
The companies did not answer to requests for comment.
Danielle Brian, govt director of the Challenge on Federal government Oversight, a superior authorities nonprofit, stated the sponsorship by itself raises questions. “This state of affairs raises a million pink flags of the appropriateness of governing administration contractors feting their general public sector consumers,” she reported.
The new allegations are the hottest controversy in a tumultuous calendar year-and-a-fifty percent for the nation’s major law enforcement company.
In January 2023, Tony Barker, performing chief of regulation enforcement functions, abruptly resigned amid allegations he pressured feminine workforce for sex.
In February 2024, Border Patrol’s 2nd in command, Joel Martinez, retired amid allegations of sexual misconduct with female personnel. A whistleblower report the exact same thirty day period questioned why CBP’s main clinical officer tried to order fentanyl lollipops for a mission delivering protection for the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York in the slide of 2023.
