EL PASO, TX—On March 13, 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested two Venezuelan nationals, 26-year-old Gregory Morillo-Quinto and 20-year-old Luiscar Godoy-Hernandez for assaulting a federal officer in El Paso, Texas.

At approximately 06:50 a.m., a United States Border Patrol (USBP) agent with the El Paso Sector apprehended a group of four undocumented non-citizens on the city’s westside. The USBP agent observed and apprehended two additional undocumented non-citizens. While trying to put them all into a USBP vehicle, Godoy-Hernandez kicked the agent in the chest and ran away. When the USBP agent was apprehending him, Godoy-Hernandez punched the agent in the head. Godoy-Hernandez was subdued by the agent and taken into custody. During the altercation, the original five detainees escaped out of the USBP vehicle.

While trying to track down the original five detainees, the USBP agent observed a group of three additional undocumented non-citizens running away from the agent. Morillo-Quinto was part of this second group. When the agent attempted to apprehend him, Morillo-Quinto hit the agent in the head. A constable deputy and a concerned citizen were able to assist the agent in maintaining custody of Morillo-Quinto.

Morillo-Quinto and Godoy-Hernandez had their Initial Appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leon Schydlow today.

Morillo-Quinto and Godoy-Hernandez have been federally charged with Assault on a Federal Officer.

“Our partners at USBP put their lives at risk each and every day while protecting our nation’s borders,” said FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey R. Downey. “We are grateful this USBP Agent didn’t sustain serious injuries and was able to go home to his/her family today. Assaults on Border Patrol agents or any other federal agents/officers or task force officers will not be tolerated and will be addressed swiftly by our office so they can continue to carry out their sworn duty to protect our communities.”

“I condemn this violent behavior as such actions pose a risk to our border security mission and most importantly to the agents of the El Paso Sector, who are fully committed to their duties of safeguarding our nation’s borders,” said El Paso Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Peter Jaquez. “We will not tolerate these violent assaults on our agents and will continue to seek criminal prosecution against such aggressors.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation El Paso Field Office’s Violent Crime and Gang Task Force investigated this case.

It is important to note the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.