Texas Claims Rio Grande Islands In Fight Against Cartels

The Texas government announced that the Lone Star State has added nine islands along the Rio Grande to its territory, bringing additional land along the U.S.-Mexico border under state jurisdiction.

Located in the Rio Grande River, the islands cover about 66 acres of land that would now fall under the Texas State jurisdiction, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham announced Monday. These islands were annexed for fear that they would become safe havens for Mexican drug cartels that operate in the area, NewsNation reported.

“Yes — the Texas General Land Office (GLO) has identified nine islands along the Texas-Mexico border, totaling roughly 66 acres, as property belonging to the State of Texas,” an official from the GLO told the DCNF.

“As Texas Land Commissioner, I have a responsibility to protect every acre of state land entrusted to the General Land Office. For years, the ownership of these islands has been uncertain, limiting the ability to ensure they are properly monitored and protected,” Buckingham said in a Monday press release. “Now that the GLO has confirmed these nine islands belong to the State of Texas, we are notifying our law enforcement partners so that they can gain access to these state-owned properties to patrol, inspect and clear them of any illegal activity they may encounter, consistent with the law. Texas land will never become a safe haven for cartels, human traffickers, smugglers, or other criminal organizations.”

Buckingham is reportedly working with state and federal law enforcement to ensure that officers and agents are using accurate land navigation coordinates during border security operations. This takes the islands “off the map” for possible cartel use, she told NewsNation, adding, “It’s kind of making Texas bigger again.”

There has not been any confirmed cartel activity amongst these specific islands. However, Buckingham reported that there have been other instances in which cartels have used islands along the border to commit transnational organized crime, according to NewsNation.

The Rio Grande River area is a hotbed for cartel activity. The United States deployed 500 troops to the Rio Grande Valley on Oct. 2 in response to the cartel firing shots at the United States Coast Guard.