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Public Safety

Border Agent Tried On Excessive Force Charges

By Michel Marizco / Senior Field Correspondent
Published April 9, 2013 at 9:11 AM PDT
This story was published more than 11 years ago.
Border Agent Tried On Excessive Force Charges
The trial of a U.S. Border Patrol agent accused of choking a border crosser began today in San Diego. It comes at a time when border agents are under increased scrutiny for the use of excessive force against migrants.

The trial of a U.S. Border Patrol agent accused of choking a border crosser began today in San Diego.

It comes at a time when border agents are under increased scrutiny for the use of excessive force against migrants.

The trial for Agent Luis Fonseca is expected to be a short one. He's accused of choking unconscious a man believed to have crossed the border illegally. Fonseca has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

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Federal prosecutors say that in 2011, Fonseca helped process a man detained near the border. In court documents, prosecutors allege Fonseca kneed him to the ground and then choked him. Afterward Fonseca allegedly told the man he was having a "Mexican heart attack."

A grand jury indicted Fonseca last year. Prosecutors say they have video of the attack.

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Michel Marizco
Senior Field Correspondent Michel Marizco (Tucson) has reported along the Southwest border for the past decade, most of that in Arizona and Sonora. Before joining the Fronteras Desk, he produced stories in the field for CNN Madrid, the BBC, 60 Minutes Australia, and the CBC. His work now focuses on transnational trafficking syndicates, immigration, federal law enforcement and those weird, wild stories that make the U.S.-Mexico border such an inherently fascinating region. He is a contributing author on Shared Responsibility: U.S.-Mexico Policy Options for Confronting Organized Crime and an occasional writer at High Country News. In his spare time, he works with Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, assisting in the ongoing investigations of journalist killings in Mexico.
See stories by Michel Marizco
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