Texas Border Patrol Agents Exchange Gunfire With Suspected Cartel Members

LAREDO, TX - AUGUST 07: U.S. Border Patrol agents watch colleagues motor past while patrolling for illegal immigrants in the Rio Grande River crossing into the United States August 7, 2008 near Laredo, Texas. Agents in the Laredo sector of the border travel the Rio Grande River in six 18" Diamondback airboats as part of their efforts to stop illegal immigrants, drug traffickers and terrorists from crossing illegally into the United States. Securing the nation's borders is an important topic in this year's presidential campaign. Since 9/11, the Border Patrol has grown by about a third to more than 15,000 agents. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
U.S. Border Patrol agents watch colleagues motor past while patrolling for illegal immigrants in the Rio Grande River crossing into the United States August 7, 2008 near Laredo, Texas. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

OAN Staff Blake Wolf
6:08 PM – Monday, January 27, 2025

Suspected Mexican cartel members fired upon U.S. Border Patrol agents on Monday near Fronton, Texas, leading to a heated exchange of gunfire.

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Fortunately, no Border Patrol agents were injured during the exchange — which took place as a group of illegal immigrants were noticed while attempting to cross the Rio Grande.

“Per multiple law enforcement sources, within the last hour, Border Patrol agents near Fronton, TX were fired upon from MX by suspected cartel gunmen as a group of illegal aliens were being brought across the river. I’m told BP returned fire, nobody hit on either side, and that the illegal aliens did not make it across,” wrote Fox News’ Bill Melugin in an X post.

The incident occurred after President Donald Trump signed a number of immigration-related executive orders — which aim to secure the Southern border, leading to an increase in escalation from the Mexican cartel “in unprecedented ways since President Trump was elected—Even giving orders to shoot at agents recently,” according to NewsNation.

Shortly after, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas) responded to the attack, writing “The Texas Tactical Border Force deployed to the Rio Grande Valley to collaborate with U.S. Border Patrol agents on the border. Texas is working closely with the Trump Administration to secure the border and make America safe again.”

The exchange took place near Fronton Island, also known as “Cartel Island,” due to their frequent criminal activity in the area. It is an uninhabited island within the Rio Grande in Starr County, Texas. Commissioner Dawn Buckingham previously declared the land as Texas territory in 2023, providing law enforcement agents the ability to patrol the area.

“One of the things that the General Land Office does is determine the center of a waterway,” Buckingham stated. “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 continued.

President Trump also recently signed an executive order designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations, as they are “engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs,” according to the White House website.

“The Cartels functionally control, through a campaign of assassination, terror, rape, and brute force nearly all illegal traffic across the southern border of the United States.  In certain portions of Mexico, they function as quasi-governmental entities, controlling nearly all aspects of society.  The Cartels’ activities threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere.  Their activities, proximity to, and incursions into the physical territory of the United States pose an unacceptable national security risk to the United States,” the executive order read.

“Enforcing our Nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States,” Trump stated last week. “The American people deserve a Federal Government that puts their interests first and a Government that understands its sacred obligation to prioritize the safety, security, and financial and economic well-being of Americans.”

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