DHS-CBP Agent Michel Maceda
Officer: US DHS-CBP Marine Interdiction Agent Michel O. Maceda
Date: 11/17/2022 Location: Coast of Puerto Rico FACTORS (1,2,3,8,9,15)
Perpetrator(s) Involved: Deceased male; Edgardo Luis Matos Santos
Criminal Activity History/Involved: Unknown. / Yes, Santos and his accomplice were smuggling drugs.
Mental Illness: None stated.
Substance Abuse History/Involved: Unknown. / None stated.
Race/Sex/Age: Unknown; Latino/Male/24
What prompted the initial contact with the killer? At around 8 a.m. on November 17, 2022, US DHS-CPB Marine Interdiction Agents Michel Maceda, Jorge Santiago, and Mark Lamphere interdicted a boat believed to be trafficking narcotics approximately 14 miles off the coast of Puerto Rico.
Actions taken by subject toward police: When the agents attempted to board their boat, one of the two smuggling suspects opened fire on them.
Reactions by the police: The agents returned fire, killing one of the smugglers and arresting another after the gunfight. Each agent was shot and expedited to a hospital where Agent Maceda died from his injuries. Two other smugglers believed to be working in concert with the killed and captured smugglers were arrested on their boat soon after. Between both boats involved, “more than 1,300 kilograms of cocaine were discovered.”
How murdered? Agent Maceda was fatally shot while boarding a drug smuggler’s boat.
What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? N/A, the agents were performing a complex and inherently dangerous mission involving armed and dangerous drug smugglers.
Would the officer have been justified to use deadly force before being murdered? There is no indication the agents could have done anything differently as they were able to kill one of the smugglers and capture the other.
Outcome for the cop-killer: It is likely but has not been officially reported the drug smuggler who opened fire and murdered Agent Maceda was the one who was killed in the shootout. The other smuggler on that vessel was arrested and faces numerous charges.
Miscellaneous: It would be nice if the same DHS and White House officials that slandered the Border Patrol Agents with false allegations of whipping the Haitian migrants illegally crossing the southern border made a fraction of those statements to praise Agent Maceda and his fellow Marine Interdiction Agents.
