THE BORDER REPORT

A U.S. citizen has surrendered to U.S. officials in connection with the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent last Saturday, sources tell me. Macedonio Guerrero, a U.S. citizen, is a known fugitive wanted on marijuana trafficking charges out of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Yuma Office. Border Patrol agent Luis Aguilar was struck and killed while he was trying to put out a spike strip to stop a runaway Ford F250 and a Hummer in the Imperial Sand Dunes near Yuma, about 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Aguilar, 32, was a six year veteran of the Border Patrol. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, a memorial service is scheduled for Aguilar Thursday at 11 a.m. in Yuma. I'm told that Guerrero turned himself in to U.S. officials and has been in the custody of the FBI since then. I don't yet know what he will be charged with. I do wonder if Guerrero is the same Guerrero wanted by the United States after the February 2007 nationwide crime bust code-named Operation Imperial Emperor. Operation Imperial Emperor resulted in more than 400 arrests across the country including 66 in Arizona. According to the Feds: "Federal warrants remain outstanding for Macedonio Guerrero aka “Lolo,” 33, and Francisco Olivarez Arvizu, aka “Flaco.” Both are believed to be key figures in drug smuggling across the Southwestern border and are believed to be hiding in Mexico. Guerrero was arrested in February 2003 in Yuma, Ariz. and pleaded guilty in federal district court in San Diego to possession with intent to distribute marijuana, but did not appear for sentencing. Arvizu was indicted in June 2002 by a grand jury in Phoenix on possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Arvizu, I believe, is related to Frank Arvizu, a man used by the FBI as an informant during Operation Lively Green, the largest public official cocaine sting in the history of the FBI. Click here and here and here for stories about Operation Lively Green.

-- Michel Marizco