A Charlotte Latin bakery known for championing immigrant causes says staff members confronted the former commander of U.S. Border Patrol in its parking lot on Sunday.
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“Manolo Betancur, owner of Manolo’s Bakery and longtime advocate for Charlotte’s immigrant community, confronted former U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino at the bakery and refused to allow him inside,” the bakery reported in a social media post.
The person believed to be Bovino was told “he was not welcome” inside the bakery or on its property, the Aug. 23 Facebook post says.
The post was accompanied by photos and video of a man resembling Bovino standing in the parking lot talking with someone. The person is also seen giving a thumbs up sign to a photographer.
The Charlotte Observer has not been able to reach Bovino for comment on the post.
Bovino grew up in North Carolina and told the New York Times he was planning “a quiet retirement” in the state’s backcountry after retiring this year. Bovino, 55, had been with Border Patrol since in 1996, the Associated Press reports.
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“The encounter, documented in photographs, became a tense conversation about the human and economic impact of immigration enforcement on Charlotte’s immigrant families, workers, and small businesses,” the bakery posted.
Betancur has estimated his business suffered losses of between $50,000 and $64,000 following an immigration crackdown in Charlotte known as Operation Charlotte’s Web.
The operation was aimed at locating people accused of being in the country illegally. More than 370 people were arrested during the operation, The Charlotte Observer reports. People protested the agency’s deployment, and the city’s cultural corridor near Central Avenue saw many businesses close their doors temporarily. People avoided workplaces and students missed school, the Observer says.
The bakery is located in the 4400 block of Central Avenue.
This story was originally published August 24, 2026 at 8:49 AM with the headline “Manolo’s Bakery says it denied service to Gregory Bovino, ex-US Border Patrol head.”
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