Marathon firm accuses CBP agent of gun threat, civil-rights violations

A Marathon construction and engineering firm has accused U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent Bruno Cabral of turning a workplace visit into an armed confrontation, saying he walked onto a private job site on the morning of April 21 and put a loaded firearm against a compliant employee’s head.

The complaint, filed by office manager Yadira Blanco with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General, says Cabral entered without a warrant, physically touched the employee with the gun and then threw the worker’s driver’s license and proof of legal residency onto the ground after it was shown to him. The filing also says Cabral questioned a second employee without probable cause and targeted both men because they were legal residents of Hispanic origin, with their skin color and accents cited as part of the alleged bias. The company is asking federal authorities to preserve evidence and treat the matter as a formal misconduct and civil-rights case, not a routine dispute at a job site.

The allegations have landed in a community already on edge over Cabral’s enforcement tactics. Activists in the Florida Keys have planned a rally outside Marathon City Hall in response to what they describe as a widening crackdown by immigration agents, and an online petition calling for Cabral to be removed and arrested had gathered 2,647 verified signatures. That backlash has been fueled by earlier confrontations in Key West, including the Feb. 14 detention of a 19-year-old restaurant worker whose encounter with Cabral was captured in a video that spread across social media.

In that case, onlookers said Cabral pinned the teen to the ground, broke his phone and shoved him into an SUV. Local advocates later described him as a feared figure in Key West and Stock Island immigrant communities, with one estimate putting his total arrests at about 300 people.

The dispute is resonating far beyond one construction site because CBP says the Marathon Border Patrol Station’s area of operations covers all of Monroe County, a 997-square-mile stretch that runs the length of the Florida Keys. Business owners and church leaders have already warned that aggressive immigration arrests are shaking confidence in the local economy and driving fear among people with legal residency status, including green card holders and work-authorized residents. CBP said it takes alleged misconduct seriously and thoroughly investigates potential misconduct by employees.