Brackettville Border Patrol agents capture Piedras Negras prison escapee

Del Rio, Texas – U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Brackettville Station captured a known fugitive who escaped from a Mexican penal facility last year.

On Sept. 17, 132 inmates at the Centro de Readaptación Social (CERESO) Prison at Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico escaped, sparking a massive manhunt on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Since that time, U.S. Border Patrol officials have worked closely with the government of Mexico to identify the escapees, and remain in constant communication to effect their capture.

Saturday morning, agents patrolling on a ranch near Brackettville encountered a group of 12 undocumented aliens. During processing, it was discovered that one of the group, Mario Nazario-Valadez, 31, was wanted for the CERESO Prison break. Records checks revealed that Nazario-Valadez was serving a sentence for murder at the time of his escape and also had served time in the United States for narcotics convictions.

Nazario-Valadez currently faces prosecution for re-entry after deportation (8 USC 1326), after which he will be turned over to Mexican officials.

“The U.S. Border Patrol is charged with protecting our borders against any and all threats,” said Chief Patrol Agent Rodolfo Karisch, Del Rio Sector. “This is a case of an extremely dangerous individual attempting to blend into a group in order to enter the country.

“Thanks to ours agents’ vigilance, training and experience he is now back behind bars.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.