A U.S. Border Patrol agent watches as immigrants prepare to board a bus after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on January 07, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Two top Border Patrol officials are under investigation after they partied with and were hosted by a wealthy Mexican tequila maker who hoped to make a Border Patrol-branded tequila, three sources familiar with the probe told NBC News.
The sources said the relationship between distiller Francisco Javier González and Border Patrol chief Jason Owens and Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol sector chief Gloria Chavez has raised questions about whether the officials disclosed their contact with a foreign national, a requirement for those who receive top security clearances, and whether they accepted anything that could be a violation of ethical rules. The Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility, the agency’s internal watchdog, is investigating.
In photos posted on social media this February, Owens and Chavez were seen in Jalisco, Mexico, with González at Tequila Casa de los González, his family’s distillery complex.
Their relationship stretches back to at least July 2023, when González hosted a party for Customs and Border Protection leadership in Laredo, Texas, two Department of Homeland Security officials said. González is the grandson of the founder of Don Julio tequila, a major international brand, and his family remains prominent in the industry.
According to two sources familiar with the probe, at some point, González and the Border Patrol leaders discussed making a Border Patrol-branded tequila for the 100th anniversary of the Border Patrol, to be celebrated at a multi-day event in El Paso, Texas, later this month.
The Border Patrol tequila project has been shelved amid the ongoing CBP investigation, three sources told NBC News.
A spokesperson for CBP did not say whether Owens and Chavez disclosed their contact with González or how they paid for their travel to Mexico. Jalisco, known for its tequila industry, is a two-hour flight from San Antonio, Texas.
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In a statement, a spokesperson for CBP said, "CBP has confidence in our senior leaders and holds them to the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. Consistent with our commitment to accountability, we thoroughly investigate all allegations and take appropriate action to address any issues identified throughout the course of investigations. CBP will continue to reinforce our commitment to the agency’s standards at all levels."
González and his company, Tequila Reserva de los González, did not respond to requests for comment on Owens and Chavez, their visit to Jalisco, the Laredo party or plans for a Border Patrol tequila.
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While Border Patrol tequila is now off the menu, the agency is still preparing for its 100th anniversary celebration in El Paso later this month. A schedule posted online includes two golf tournaments, a parade and a black-tie gala over several days in late May.
The event’s website lists four sponsors. Three are large CBP contractors that combined have received hundreds of millions in government contracts.
The companies did not respond to requests for comment.
Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, a good government nonprofit, said the sponsorship alone raises questions. “This scenario raises a million red flags of the appropriateness of government contractors feting their public sector customers,” she said.
The new allegations are the latest controversy in a tumultuous year-and-a-half for the nation’s largest law enforcement agency.
In January 2023, Tony Barker, acting chief of law enforcement operations, abruptly resigned amid allegations he pressured female employees for sex.
In February 2024, Border Patrol’s second in command, Joel Martinez, retired amid allegations of sexual misconduct with female employees. A whistleblower report the same month questioned why CBP’s chief medical officer tried to order fentanyl lollipops for a mission providing security for the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York in the fall of 2023.
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