Rattlesnake Bit Illegal Migrant Rescued by Agents in the Valley

EDINBURG – Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) Border Patrol agents rescued a Guatemalan citizen snakebite victim near Falfurrias Sunday.

On July 17, at approximately 11:00 p.m., RGV agents apprehended a group of five illegal migrants unlawfully in the U.S. from Mexico and Central America. A migrant from Guatemala informed the agents he had been bitten by an unknown type of snake. An emergency medical technician agent assessed the subject and immediately requested emergency medical services. The subject was transported to a nearby location where he was air lifted to a hospital and administered rattlesnake anti-venom protocols.

RGV agents have made more than a thousand rescues this fiscal year. More than seventy percent of rescues are heat related. Some of the dangers associated to the illegal journey into the U.S., apart from snake bites, are drowning, extreme heat, getting lost or left behind in the vast brush lands.

“Do not place your lives in the hands of smugglers who are only interested in making a profit.” Acting Chief Patrol Agent Joel Martinez.