After ABC News investigation, congressmen question 'appalling' border officer conduct

Two congressmen are demanding answers from the government officials charged with oversight of U.S. Customs and Border Protection after an ABC News investigation that shed light on a tragic 2013 episode at the U.S.-Mexico border. Government surveillance video obtained by ABC News shows two Customs and Border Protection officers appeared to encourage — or at least permit — a 16-year-old Mexican high school student named Cruz Velazquez to drink from a bottle that tests later revealed contained concentrated liquid methamphetamine. He died shortly afterward from acute methamphetamine intoxication. In an Aug. 2 letter addressed to the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Rep. Juan Vargas, D-Calif., whose district includes the border crossing where the episode occurred, and Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., called the officers’ actions “appalling” and advocated for legislation that would rein in the agency.