A dramatic incident unfolded near the Texas-Mexico border when a woman attempted to evade law enforcement by swimming across the Rio Grande with an infant in her arms. Brenda Castro, a Texas resident, was discovered with five undocumented immigrants in her vehicle, according to officials.
The sequence of events began on December 19th in Laredo, a city that sits along the U.S.-Mexico border. Castro was a passenger in a Ford Explorer driven by her husband. Both are U.S. citizens. When Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers attempted to pull the vehicle over, the driver refused to stop, leading to a tense pursuit.
The chase, captured on DPS dashcam footage, shows the SUV speeding through both residential and rural areas. The situation escalated when Castro exited the vehicle during the pursuit, clutching an infant, and made a desperate attempt to swim across the river that marks the international boundary.
In a daring move captured by authorities, Brenda Castro leaped into the Rio Grande, aiming to reach Mexico’s side of the border. Her husband also attempted the swim and successfully crossed into Mexico, according to a DPS spokesperson speaking to Fox News Digital.
This incident highlights the ongoing challenges and complexities faced by border authorities in monitoring illegal immigration and ensuring safety along this critical geographic area.
Castro’s husband swam across and made it to Mexico, a DPS spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
State and local law authorities at the scene directed Castro to come back to the U.S. side of the border, and she was arrested.
Bodycam footage shows Brenda Castro and an infant in the Rio Grande on the U.S.-Mexico border. (Texas Department of Public Safety)
While in the river, authorities were heard telling Castro in Spanish to get back to dry land with the child. A law enforcement officer was then seen taking the child out of the water.
“I can’t believe you tried to run back with the baby. You both could have drowned,” a law enforcement officer told Castro while escorting her into a vehicle upon her arrest.
The child was placed under the care of authorities.
Authorities said they found five illegal immigrants in Castro’s vehicle and turned them over to the U.S. Border Patrol.
The Rio Grande is seen from Laredo, Texas, U.S., September 19, 2020. Picture taken Sept. 19, 2020. (REUTERS/Veronica G. Cardenas)
Castro is charged with human smuggling and endangering a child.
