Houston (United States) (AFP) – A Venezuelan who was shot by an immigration agent in Texas underwent surgery this Thursday in which the bullet that had been lodged near his spine since September 20 was removed, his lawyers reported.
First modification: 02/10/2026 - 18:26
Wilber Garcés, 28, was injured in the back during an operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Austin, when he was working as a delivery driver in his vehicle. On Wednesday he had already been placed under federal criminal detention, after a hearing where a judge denied him bail.
"Today (Thursday) he underwent surgery and is recovering," the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP), a civil organization that is part of his legal team, reported in a press release.
The incident adds to other recent incidents recorded during immigration operations promoted by Republican President Donald Trump, criticized by Democratic legislators and humanitarian organizations for the use of force.
The prosecution criminally accused Garcés of assault, resistance, obstruction and impeding a federal agent, crimes punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Garcés had been in ICE custody and then went to federal prison.
"These are charges that the government usually uses as retaliation against people who have resisted, protested or been attacked by ICE. There are numerous examples of this," said his lawyer Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, on her social networks.
Texas federal judge Dustin Howell denied bail to Garcés, due to flight risk, and because of "video evidence showing the defendant fleeing a traffic stop and running over a law enforcement officer with his vehicle during his escape attempt."
According to the testimony of the agents involved, Garcés fled from a first intervention, hitting one of them with the rearview mirror of his car. When they manage to reach him, the agent with the initials L.G. He said that Garcés tried to run him over with his vehicle, so he shot.
"The testimony of the government investigator raises serious doubts. According to him, L.G., the agent who fired the shot, was not wearing a body camera. D.F., the other agent who pursued Wilber, turned off his camera midway through the encounter, before speaking to his partner, so we have no record of the conversation. The public is left without a complete account of how this ended in a shooting," the TCRP organization considered.
© 2026 AFP
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