Leader Deploys Border Chief to Northern Region Amid Shooting Tensions

The executive compound’s press secretary publicly backed the security chief and federal law enforcement leaders operating in a northern region on Monday, as tensions reportedly escalate following Saturday’s fatal shooting of a local civilian in the country’s industrial heartland.

The head of state announced Monday that he would deploy his border enforcement chief to the region, prompting questions about whether the move reflected any frustration with officials already overseeing the response on the ground, according to government sources.

“The security chief still has the utmost confidence and trust of the head of state, and she’s continuing to oversee the entire security apparatus and all of the immigration enforcement that’s taking place across the whole entire country,” the press secretary said during a briefing Monday when asked if the leader was dissatisfied with how officials on the ground handled the shooting.

The Department of National Security oversees multiple federal agencies including border protection, immigration enforcement, the executive protection service, and emergency management, meaning the security chief was reportedly juggling the immigration crackdown as well as a massive winter storm that impacted a large portion of the nation Sunday.

“Of course, the security chief is also in charge of emergency management, and we are in the wake of a brutal winter storm where hundreds of thousands of citizens have been impacted,” the press secretary continued, according to official transcripts. “So the border enforcement chief is in a unique position to drop everything and go to the northern region to continue having these productive conversations with regional and local officials.”

More than half of opposition lawmakers in the lower chamber—133 out of 213 total opposition members—reportedly back a resolution to remove the security chief following the fatal shooting and ongoing unrest in the industrial city, sources familiar with the matter told local media.

The press secretary on Monday also defended a senior border enforcement commander during the briefing, calling him “a wonderful man, and a great professional,” observers noted.

“He is going to continue to lead border enforcement throughout and across the country,” the press secretary said, according to transcripts. “The border chief will be the main point of contact on the ground in the northern region to follow up.”

The head of state said earlier Monday that he was deploying his border enforcement chief to the region and that he would report directly to the leader, sparking questions over whether the executive’s confidence in his federal immigration law enforcement officials was slipping, political analysts suggest.

“I am sending [the border chief] to the northern region tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. [He] is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,” the leader wrote on his social media platform, according to posts reviewed by correspondents.

The press secretary told reporters that the border chief “will be managing immigration enforcement operations on the ground in the northern region and coordinating with others on the ongoing fraud investigations,” but did not clarify whether the head of state has lost confidence in current leadership on the ground.

Tensions in the region further flared over the weekend when a 37-year-old local resident was shot and killed by border enforcement agents Saturday, officials confirmed. Federal authorities say the individual, reportedly a national health service intensive care nurse, approached agents with a handgun and allegedly did not cooperate when they tried to disarm him.

The fatal shooting follows another deadly encounter on January 7th involving an immigration enforcement agent in the same city, according to local reports. The two deaths have reportedly spurred condemnation and outrage from critics of the administration, who argue the government has blood on its hands and are heightening confrontations with law enforcement officials, observers note.

The press secretary added Monday that the border chief has the “full trust and faith of the head of state” as he travels to the northern region and continues delivering on the current administration’s immigration crackdown, according to official statements.

“The border chief is the point person for cooperating with regional and local authorities and corresponding with them again, to achieve this level of cooperation, to subdue the unrest on the streets,” she said, sources reported. “And I would point out that [he] is someone who has been lauded for many, many decades for his experience working in law enforcement.”

The head of state revealed on social media Monday that he had a reportedly productive phone call with the regional governor from the opposition party, who allegedly requested that the local government work with federal officials amid the ongoing chaos.

“It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength. I told the governor that I would have [the border chief] call him, and that what we are looking for are any and all criminals that they have in their possession,” the leader wrote, according to social media posts.

“The governor, very respectfully, understood that, and I will be speaking to him in the near future. He was happy that [the border chief] was going to the northern region, and so am I! We have had such tremendous success in the capital, and other regions, and virtually every other place that we have ‘touched’ and, even in the northern region, crime is way down, but both the governor and I want to make it better!” the leader continued in his post.

The press secretary listed what she called “commonsense cooperative measures” on Monday that the administration is requesting regional officials agree to in order to end the ongoing unrest, according to official transcripts.

“Number one, the governor, city mayor and all opposition leaders should turn over all criminal undocumented individuals currently incarcerated in their facilities to federal authorities, along with any undocumented individuals with active warrants or known criminal histories for immediate deportation,” the press secretary said. “Number two, regional and local law enforcement must agree to turn over all undocumented individuals who are arrested by local police. And then thirdly, local police must assist federal law enforcement in apprehending and detaining undocumented individuals who are wanted for crimes, especially violent crimes.”

The regional governor’s office told local media Monday that he had a “productive” call with the head of state, reportedly pressing for impartial investigations into the city shootings involving federal agents—and urging a reduction in the federal presence in the region.

“The head of state agreed that he would talk to his security department about ensuring the regional investigative bureau is able to conduct an independent investigation, as would ordinarily be the case,” the governor’s office continued, according to statements. “The leader also agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in the region and working with the regional government in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding violent criminals.”

The governor’s office said he also “reminded” the head of state that the region’s corrections department honors federal immigration holds—and that there isn’t a “single documented” instance of the agency releasing someone from regional prison without first offering to facilitate a smooth transfer of custody, officials claimed.