El Paso Man Charged With Assault On a Federal Officer After He Allegedly Resisted Arrest And Fought Agents

Since the start of Fiscal Year 2025, assaults and use of force against U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have averaged at least 20 cases per month. So far this year, 126 such incidents have taken place along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to data from CBP. One of the latest ones took place on March 7, when a man was arrested on charges of assault on a federal officer after he allegedly resisted arrest and fought with agents.

The alleged assault took place at the Ysleta Border Patrol Station, where the man identified as Larry Maldonado, 35, allegedly resisted being fingerprinted and yelled at agents. According to a federal complaint affidavit filed on March 10 by an FBI agent, Maldonado told agents that he was good at remembering faces. "I will remember your face and find you later," Maldonado allegedly said according to the affidavit.

As Border Report points out, Maldonado continued resisting arrest even after the fingerprinting and was placed in a cell at the immigration center. Shortly after, Maldonado tried to disassemble a cot and keep a leg as a weapon before more agents restrained him with handcuffs and moved him to a different cell.

Once relocated, Maldonado continued fighting CBP agents and tried to break the glass of his new cell with the handcuffs, the complaint affidavit mentioned.

According to court records, Maldonado allegedly stated he resisted when Border Patrol tried to fingerprint him and that he "did fight" with the agents but did not hit any of them, Border Report said. Despite this, the suspect was charged with misdemeanor assault of a federal officer and U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert F. Castaneda held him without bond during a detention hearing last week.

The decision came after prosecutors alleged Maldonado had a prior criminal history and possessed a "serious risk" of endangering the community.

How things unfolded

Court records indicate that FBI agents were called to the Ysleta station to interview Maldonado after the El Paso native had had an altercation with CBP agents earlier that day. He initially told agents a man he did not know had come to his driveway and asked him for a glass of water and for directions.

Maldonado then decided to walk with the man and moments later Border Patrol agents arrived at the scene. According to court documents, the agents had been advised by radio that three migrants had just crossed over the border and that physical descriptions provided by radio dispatchers matched those of the men walking along a residential area less than 1,000 feet from the Rio Grande riverbanks.

Once CBP agents started interrogating the suspects, one of them became hostile and told the agent, in English, he could not be questioned or detained. The other man initially told agents he was from Mexico, but after Maldonado allegedly pulled out his cellphone and began recording, his companion changed his answer and said he was from El Paso.

After the interaction, the two men began walking away and the CBP agent called for backup and reported the subjects were in flight.

Once reinforcements arrived at the scene, they surrounded the two suspects and placed them in handcuffs. According to court records, Maldonado was arrested "after a brief struggle" with agents while his companion, identified as Antonio Espinoza Jaquez, admitted he had just entered the U.S. illegally.