CBP officers attacked at Gateway bridge

A 37-year-old man remains in federal custody after he attacked two U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville, a criminal complaint states.

According to the complaint, Santiago Alvarez Mondragon, address unknown, yelled at the officers “you’re trash” in Spanish and threw a cup of an unknown liquid in the face of one of the officers.

Mondragon appeared Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronal C. Morgan for his initial appearance. Bond was denied and Mondragon was remanded to federal custody. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 18.

According to the complaint, Mondragon was attempting to cross the bridge at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday where he approached the officers who were manning the “demarcation line” inspecting the travel documents of those attempting to enter the United States.

Mondragon crossed the line and held up a fake travel document, the complaint states. “Once Mondragon was close enough to the officers he yelled ‘you’re trash’ in Spanish and threw a cup of containing an unknown liquid at the face of CBPO Oquendo, which also struck CBPO Saenz.”

The complaint states Mondragon resisted arrest and forced the officers to take him down to the ground to “properly secure him.”

During the struggle, officer Saenz received injuries to his arms and knees resulting in the officer having to seek medical attention at an emergency room, the complaint said.

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