A U.S. Border Patrol agent based in southern New Mexico is facing federal charges after prosecutors say he strangled a handcuffed detainee in Doña Ana County, then tried to make the body-camera footage disappear. A federal grand jury indicted 40-year-old agent Eduardo Prat in connection with the May 22, 2023, incident, and he is currently free under conditions of release while the case moves through federal court in Las Cruces.
What the indictment says
According to federal court records summarized in local coverage, Prat is accused of strangling a detainee identified in filings only as “John Doe” while the man’s hands were cuffed. Prosecutors also allege Prat concealed or destroyed the body-camera recording of that encounter. The indictment says the alleged concealment happened sometime between May 22 and June 12, 2023, details that were reported by KFOX.
Charges and penalties
Prat is charged with deprivation of rights under color of law, a federal civil-rights offense, and with destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in a federal investigation. Local reporting notes that, taken together, the allegations could carry a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted. The Las Cruces branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office is handling the prosecution. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court, as KOAT reports.
Legal precedent
While not routine, federal civil-rights prosecutions of Border Patrol agents are not unheard of. In previous cases involving alleged abuse of people in custody, the Department of Justice has brought similar civil-rights counts against Border Patrol officers, showing that existing federal statutes can reach alleged misconduct by agents in detention settings. In those earlier matters, prosecutors have sometimes paired civil-rights charges with obstruction-style allegations, such as evidence tampering, when filings claim both excessive force and efforts to hide records or footage, as per the U.S. Department of Justice
Investigations and prosecution
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility led the investigation into the incident, with assistance from the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, the FBI’s Las Cruces Resident Agency in Albuquerque, and the U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector, according to local reports. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison announced the indictment on Friday, and the Las Cruces branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case, KFOX noted. CBP had not publicly responded to media inquiries cited in those reports.
Local oversight and context
The case arrives at a moment of heightened scrutiny of how people in custody are treated in Doña Ana County. In 2025, the ACLU of New Mexico filed a lawsuit accusing the county detention center of using paramilitary-style training raids and other aggressive tactics that allegedly traumatized incarcerated people. Civil-rights advocates say that backdrop is likely to sharpen public attention on how this federal prosecution unfolds, as per the ACLU of New Mexico
What happens next
For now, Prat remains free under court-ordered conditions while the federal case gets underway. Local outlets report that his initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Las Cruces is expected soon. As hearings are scheduled, filings in the case will appear on the District of New Mexico docket, according to KOAT. In the coming weeks, federal prosecutors and defense counsel are expected to begin trading motions as the matter moves toward potential pretrial hearings and, if it continues on that track, a trial.
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