Border Patrol holds border training exercise in Sunland Park

The El Paso Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol held a Mobile Field Force training exercise in the Anapra area of Sunland Park, New Mexico.

The training exercise includes participants and assets from the United States Border Patrol.

At 11:00 Friday morning, Border Patrol Agents marched up to the border fence that separates Anapra and Sunland Park, as they took part in training exercises.

More than 50 agents, some in full riot gear, trained together so that they are fully prepared in case there is a need for the extra security and force at the U.S.-Mexico border.

A heavy duty border patrol vehicle led the agents into the area as they marched up to the fence.

The agents on foot were followed by agents on horseback and agents with specially trained K-9s. One agent yelled instructions, in both Spanish and English, as the agents marched toward the border fence.

Some agents were holding long sticks, and yelling “move back!”

Multiple teams that do not usually operate together – like the Special Operations Detachment Unit, The Mobile Response Team and the Horse Patrol Team – also participated in Friday’s training session.

Fidel Baca, a Border Patrol Agent with the El Paso Sector, told ABC 7 this type of training is necessary.

“We have to train everything we do just like any other law enforcement agencies we have not only mobile field force training, we have active shooter training,” he said, “because we want to see what our capabilities are, we want to see how well we work together, we want to see if there is anything we need to improve on.”

At one point during the training exercise, the agents marched up within about 50 yards of the fence and threw what appeared to be mock tear gas canisters.

This type of training appears to be very similar to what we witnessed at the Tijuana border last week, as Border Patrol Agents in California tossed tear gas at the Central American Migrants who attempted to breach the fence, causing the San Ysidro Port of Entry to temporarily close.

According to Baca, that type of situation is possible here at the southern border in both New Mexico and West Texas.

“Well we haven’t only seen that in California, we’ve seen that here as well. Specifically in this area right now, Anapra is very common to rock throwing. The commands I did here are specific to rock throwing, so we see this almost not daily but weekly basis here in Anapra, so it can happen very well here where we are at right now,” Baca said, “So these trainings are just allowing us to be prepared just in case anything like that would happen here in the border area, but not only that any type of civil disturbances they may happen at the border, so we can be prepared and we can know what our capabilities are.”

Baca told ABC 7 that they will now take what they learned and try to improve upon it.