Recently, the Texas Rangers, an elite group of the state’s law enforcement, began seizing a large island within the United States that drug cartels controlled. Mexican cartels had occupied a 170-acre, roughly mile-long “Fronton Island” in the center of the Rio Grande.
The violent Mexican cartels were reportedly using the area to transport drugs, human trafficking associated with illegal immigration, and other illicit activities. The cartels had previously fired upon law enforcement and border patrol while also intimidating local residents nearby.
The cartel presence in the area was proving to be a significant problem, so the Texas Rangers were forced to step in and stop the illegal activity. The commander of the Rangers gave an encouraging speech to his heavily armed crew before conducting the military-style operation. “We have medical evacuation plans and extra blood on hand in case we do get engaged and someone is shot or something,” he told his men.
Footage of the island showed a variety of buildings that were clearly tagged as the property of different cartels. “Let’s keep a close eye on those structures that are up there that have that height advantage on us,” he said. The said structures could obviously be used to the Cartel’s advantage if gunfighting ensued between the groups. “We have not seen people in there this morning, but we know that that’s what they’re used for,” he continued.
The leader warned of possible gunfire from the Cartels, noting, “When those guys engage, we have a lot of bullets fly our way. It’s not directed fire, so just be aware of that. If they start firing on someone over there, you’ll kind of just want to take some cover. Bullets have definitely flown over our heads.”
The Rangers were instructed to return combat to the enemy if they faced such adversarial behavior. “That will initiate a large response from us, rightfully so,” he said. And, oh yeah, watch out for Africanized bees found on the island, he added. “They’re aggressive.”
However, it hasn’t always been crystal clear who owns the strip of land in the middle of the Rio Grande. Apparently, both the United States and Mexico had shied away from aggressively pursuing the island as to avoid diplomatic tension.
“Ownership has always been an issue for the State of Texas,” said Mike Salinas, a recently retired Border Patrol agent who served for roughly 30 years. “And as far as Border Patrol is concerned, it was always a ‘let’s not get on there and find out’ [if Mexico owned the island] because the optics of that whole thing might open up a big old Pandora’s Box of holy moly.”
Texas DPS Regional Direct Victor Escalon recently commented on the necessity to secure the island given the illegal immigration crisis occurring in America. “The federal government is not able to cover all these areas and provide the safety and security of landowners who are in Texas, bottom line,” Escalon said. “When you have a land owner out here saying, ‘hey man, I’m out here feeding my cows and I see three men coming across with backpacks and they’re armed and why do I have to live like that?’ Well, this is the answer, and I call it being pro-active.”
See footage of the Rangers’ seizure below.
Note: Featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.
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