CV NEWS FEED // The Texas agriculture commissioner is urging farmers and others who travel to or work near the Mexico border to be extremely careful amid increasing threats posed by cartels.
KRGV 5, ABC’s affiliate for the Lower Rio Grande Valley, reports that on Jan. 31, rancher and U.S. citizen Antonio Céspedes Saldierna was driving on his property with Horacio Lopez Peña and Lopez’s wife, Ninfa Griselda Ortega, in Tamaulipas, Mexico, when he drove over an improvised explosive device (IED). The IED exploded, killing Saldierna and Peña, and injuring Ortega.
A Tamaulipas state police spokesperson stated in a recent interview that cartels place IEDs to deter “opposing factions [from] their territory,” KGRV 5 reported.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller described the Jan. 31 explosion, which occurred near Brownsville, Texas, as both “tragic and alarming.”
“This shocking act of violence highlights the growing threat posed by cartel activity along our southern border,” he said in a Feb. 25 statement. “I urge all Texas farmers, ranchers, and agricultural workers who travel to Mexico or operate near the border to exercise extreme caution.”
He emphasized that the agricultural community’s safety is of crucial importance.
“We cannot overlook the rising violence that threatens not only lives but also the security of our farms, ranches, and rural communities,” he said. “I encourage everyone in the agricultural industry to stay vigilant, remain aware of their surroundings, and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement.”
He warned against traveling after dark, on dirt roads, and in remote or cartel-controlled areas.
“Our agriculture family is the backbone of Texas,” he concluded, “and we must do everything we can to protect it.”
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