US Border Patrol’s newest agent in the embattled El Paso sector is a sleek black Labrador puppy who’s already a potential target for drug cartels.
Dogs like Blitzen, whose handlers are described as Border Patrol chaplains and peer support members, have been marshaled to help boost morale. But further details about the role of Blitzen and the identity of his handlers are classified information for fear of reprisals from drug cartel members who smuggle drugs and people across the border, according to a Customs and Border Protection spokesman.
Although Blitzen is a support dog for Border Patrol staff, he is also part of an elite team of canine agents who undergo an intensive seven-week program that trains them to find hidden drugs and people. Asylum-seeking migrants cross the Rio Bravo river, the border between the United States and Mexico, in January.Border Patrol agents have suffered stress after nearly 300,000 “encounters” with migrants in El Paso Sector in 2022.
With more than 1,500 canine teams, the CBP Canine Program is the largest and most diverse law enforcement canine program in the country. Support dogs like Blitzen “improve staff morale, assist in emotional recovery, and promote agent resiliency,” said El Paso Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Peter Jaquez.In addition to Blitzen, who started work at the Family Support Unit in El Paso Sector earlier this month, Pearl, a yellow Labrador trained in obedience, embarked on her training in the Laredo Sector Border Patrol in January.
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