Logan was sexually assaulted while covering the Egyptian uprising in 2011 but she received little sympathy from many of her colleagues and the Obama White House.
Two boat crews. 52 miles of river. And a war without end. Mexican cartels on one side, Border Patrol on the other, searching for migrants making a quick dash across the Rio Grande.
Former CBS war correspondent, now with Sinclair Broadcasting Network went on a Border Patrol “ride along.”
It’s not a question of ‘if’ for Vessel Commander Deborah Villarreal, it’s ‘when’ and ‘how many?’
All along the river’s twists and turns, the eyes of the cartels are watching and waiting.
The agents said they often see their scouts posted along the riverbank. They’re also picked up by helicopters, cameras and surveillance blimps.
It’s a 30-second ride to America if they make it with a big price tag. And unlike the US, the Mexican side of the border is secure: the Cartels control it all.
The agents pointed out well-worn landing sites carved out of mud and reeds and took us to one they said is used often. Looking around, you have a sense of all the people that have come through here. Fragments of their journey and the lives they’ve left behind.
Agent Gerardo Lebron took us down the path they take from here — their path to America. Here they can walk or wait for
Photo: About two years ago, Agent Rogelio Martinez of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency was murdered in the line of duty when attacked by a group of illegal aliens using rocks.
Border Patrol and give themselves up unless they run.
Suddenly, rafts were spotted crossing back up the river and the race was on. Agents roared up the Rio Grande to stop them, topping 50 miles an hour.
Their arrival interrupted the smugglers, still in sight on the Mexican side, carrying a raft along the shore. It was interesting to watch as they heckled the border agents from the safety of their home turf.
Interrupted but still enough time to get two rafts across with their cargo, 15 migrants who had reached the U.S. side and were quickly apprehended by other agents on horseback.
It’s not even rush hour for the agents on the Rio Grande. They said that would start when the sun goes down.
Lara Logan is a South African television and radio journalist and war correspondent. She was a correspondent for CBS News between 2002 and 2018. In 2019, she joined the Sinclair Broadcast Group. During the violence occurring in Cairo when Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek was overthrown in February 2011, while covering the violent protests and uprising, Ms. Logan was sexually assaulted by radical Muslims. Unfortunately, CBS and the mainstream media — as well as the Obama administration — showed little sympathy for her suffering.
