U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently appointed Rosario “Pete” Vasquez as U.S. Border Patrol chief.
“Pete Vasquez is a Border Patrol agent’s agent,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said. “He has spent more than two decades leading from the front, earning the respect of the workforce, and delivering results in some of the most challenging operational environments in the country. He understands what this mission demands because he has lived it. There is no one better suited to lead the United States Border Patrol into its next chapter.”
Vasquez has more than 26 years of U.S. Border Patrol service and has served in a broad range of operational and executive leadership assignments across the southwest border, northern border, CBP headquarters, and international postings. Assignments have included the Border Patrol’s Special Operations Group, CBP headquarters’ Office of Anti-Terrorism, and the Alliance to Combat Transnational Threats.
Most recently, Vasquez was chief patrol agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Blaine Sector in Washington state. In his new role, he will oversee nearly 20,000 Border Patrol agents and professional staff nationwide and will lead efforts to combat transnational criminal organizations, disrupt human smuggling and narcotics trafficking networks and safeguard U.S. sovereignty.
Vasquez is a graduate of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Search, Trauma, and Rescue Unit.