Retired FBI agent killed in confrontation with high school police

Julio Cordero, 56, was a father of four and a decorated former federal agent who had struggled with deteriorating mental health since retiring from the FBI, Cordero's brother, Marco Cordero, told Channel 9-KTSM.

The FBI El Paso Division confirmed that Cordero served as a special agent in the office from 1996 to 2019. “We are saddened by the loss of one of our own,” said spokeswoman Special Agent Jeanette Harper.

Cordero was the lead agent in Operation Poisoned Pawns, a 2007 public corruption investigation in which the FBI raided the El Paso District Courthouse that resulted in dozens of convictions, including three former district judges, county commissioners, school board members and businessmen.