The borderlands in the Rio Grande Valley are some of the most volatile, particularly on the Mexican side, due to brutal wars between the Northeast Cartel, which is remnants of the infamous Los Zetas, and the Gulf Cartel, which is comprised of different factions who also fight against each other.
Texas state troopers with the Rangers Special Operations Group (SOG), under Operation Lone Star, are clearing an island in the Rio Grande to further deny the different criminal groups areas to conduct drug or human smuggling operations. Fronton, Texas is a well-known smuggling corridor that often sees cartel members operating in the open.
Near Fronton on the Mexico side of the border is Ciudad Miguel Alemán, a city that consistently sees battles between the warring cartel groups and Mexican authorities.
The Elite @TxDPS Rangers Special Operations Group (SOG) began clearing an island for operational security in Fronton, TX. The island has been under control by transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) for decades. The State of #Texas is now taking over to address threats posed… pic.twitter.com/vxloMOEIyU
— Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) September 29, 2023
As your Land Commissioner, I will not tolerate lawlessness to venture across our border on state lands.
— Dawn Buckingham (@DrBuckinghamTX) September 30, 2023
The @TXGLO is committed to working with @TxDPS to do everything possible to combat illegal immigration. https://t.co/SKjnkPN0oB
"Law enforcement has found some ammunition, suspicious devices on it. And we just feel like with the border crisis, it was really important to ensure that Texas law enforcement have access to these islands, so we can help secure our border," Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham told Fox News.
"One of the things that the General Land Office does is determine the center of a waterway. Everything that is the center of the Rio Grande and north, of course, the state of Texas and the United States territory. The land just hadn't been accurately declared as it was forming in the river. That's why we had to step in and officially declare it Texas territory," she added.
