Mexican cartel members could be heard laughing after a helicopter crashed near the southern border in Texas, killing three people.
On Friday, a helicopter carrying two soldiers and a Border Patrol agent went down while it was conducting aviation operations in La Grulla, a small town near the Rio Grande City.
“A UH-72 Lakota helicopter assigned to the federal Southwest border support mission crashed at approximately 2:50 p.m. MST today while conducting aviation operations near Rio Grand City, Texas,” Joint Task Force North said in a statement Friday night.
The agency confirmed that one of the soldiers survived, but is in critical condition.
As the helicopter crashed, Mexican cartels were heard laughing, according to footage from a Customs Border and Protection agent obtained by Fox News Digital.
“Go to he--," the cartel members were heard saying in Spanish.
The area is known for its high Mexican cartel activity and is often involved in drug and human smuggling.
BREAKING: Per Border Patrol source, cartel members were watching the helicopter on their drone when it crashed, then they zoomed into the crash site and laughed about it. Posted on cartel social media. The La Grulla area sees frequent cartel activity via drug & human smuggling. pic.twitter.com/WC9IhFolat
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) March 9, 2024
The cause of the crash is unknown and the names of the deceased will not be released until the next of kin is notified.
“The crash involved “a military helicopter on federal orders working with Border Patrol,” Texas Department of Public Safety South Regional Director Victor Escalon had told Nexstar.
Helicopter fatalities have been recent in the past years.
Last month, five US Marines died after their military helicopter went down in a mountainous terrain in San Diego, California.
That same month, two National Guard soldiers were killed when a military helicopter crashed in a wooded area during a training mission in Mississippi.