Texas Seizes Large Sanctuary Island in Campaign Against Cartels

Dawn was breaking on Monday as a Texas Rangers commander spoke to a heavily armed assembly of state police and Texas military personnel, much like a World War II military commander pep-talking soldiers about to invade an enemy-held Pacific Island.

It so happened that the Texans also were about to invade an enemy-held island, this one being a 170-acre, mile-long land mass in the middle of the Rio Grande. The declared enemy: ultra-violent Mexican cartels that have occupied and used it with impunity to smuggle cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, weapons, and illegal immigrants, all while shooting at American cops, riddling Border Patrol boats with bullets, and intimidating Texas farmers, ranchers, and the 180 residents of the isolated Texas riverfront village of Fronton.

But no more after Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently decided in ordering his Texas military force and state police to retake “Fronton Island” by force and to hold it, come what may. With D-Day about to start, the Rangers officer dished advice and encouragement to his force.

We have medical evacuation plans and extra blood on hand “in case we do get engaged and someone is shot or something,” he told the gathered men, some of whom shifted from one foot to another or repositioned their M-4 rifles.

“Let’s keep a close eye on those structures that are up there that have that height advantage on us,” he warned of the burned out, bullet-pocked structures up on a Mexican side bluff overlooking Fronton Island. They were often used as sniper’s perches, with many marked by spray-painted cartel acronyms.

“We have not seen people in there this morning, but we know that that’s what they’re used for.”

Because an improvised explosive was found on Fronton Island last month amid a stash of semi-automatic rifles and ammunition, don’t disturb backpacks or piles of clothes as you secure the island today, he warned, because there’s a fair chance they’re now booby-trapped. Mark it and call one of three bomb squads on call.

A Texas Rangers captain interjected to tell the troops not to take it personally if a typical eruption of combat between warring cartel factions over there happened to send rounds their way. Don’t automatically just shoot back.

“When those guys engage, we have a lot of bullets fly our way,” the captain explained. “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.”

But if they do direct fire at any of you while you’re taking the island, the first officer warned, make sure you don’t kill a Mexican soldier by accident to avoid international controversy, maybe even a Mexican extradition and trial. If fire comes from cartel gunmen fleeing a losing gun battle, as often happens, “That will initiate a large response from us, rightfully so,” the Ranger said. And, oh yeah, watch out for Africanized bees found on the island, he added. “They’re aggressive.”

When the invasion pep talk ended and the sun was spreading orange rays of light, dozens of heavily armed men, including some military special forces personnel who refused to be photographed, boarded roaring convoys of all-terrain vehicles and invaded Fronton Island.

With police drones scouting the brush ahead for gunmen, they ground through mud left by a rare overnight rainfall. The officers were sweating from humidity, body armor, and stress, trying to familiarize themselves with the island where many will spend their future shifts for months or even years to come. Depending.

The idea was for these vanguards to secure Fronton Island enough now to have Texas National Guard engineers go in with heavy earth-moving machinery to completely denude its thick, covering blanket of vegetation, fortify its newly barren length with concertina wire, and deny its future use to these cartels by force of arms. It is the third and largest Rio Grande island that Texas has seized in 2023. The earlier two were taken in the Eagle Pass area, mainly to deny their use by illegal immigrants.

All the national media was in Eagle Pass Monday to monitor illegal immigration. The Texas seizure of Fronton Island, however, highlights a consequence of the overall border crisis that went largely unnoted but demands equal attention: While Border Patrol agents have been busy processing illegal immigrants for three years, the cartels have gone unchecked.

https://cis.org/Bensman/Texas-Seizes-Large-Sanctuary-Island-Campaign-Against-Cartels

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