This is the shocking moment American Border Patrol stationed at the Mexican border were fired upon by a suspected drug cartel in an effort to smuggle illegal migrants into Texas.
The gunfight broke out on Monday in Fronton, Texas, near Guadalupe Guerra, exactly one week after President Donald Trump returned to office and began his sweeping deportation crackdown as he declared Mexican drug cartels as ‘terrorists’.
Footage shows a small group of rifle-bearing cartel members crossing from Mexico onto an island in the Rio Grande river.
Dressed in black or in camouflage outfits, the gangsters can be seen swinging their weapons around and pointing them up to American drones patrolling the area.
They can also be seen walking along the riverbank in a separate clip before they are joined by a a few other gang members.
Another video shows one man dressed in black hiding in some bushes, as he points his weapon towards a drone.
He then backs away and moves deeper into the foliage, where the outlines of other man can also be seen.
The footage was released by Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
While the cartel suspected of being responsible for the violence has been shooting across the border for years, NewsNation reports that the crisis in the region has ‘escalated in unprecedented ways since President Trump was elected.’
The cartel has reportedly ‘given orders to shoot at agents recently.’
American Border Patrol stationed at the Mexican border were fired upon by a suspected drug cartel in an effort to smuggle illegal migrants into Texas on Monday
Newly released footage shows the moment Mexican gang members pointed their guns at American drones patrolling the area
The gunfight broke out on Monday near the disputed territory of Fronton, Texas
A separate image shows the cartel members pointing their guns in an upward direction.
No agents were injured in Monday’s shootout.
Border Patrol ‘returned fire’ and the ‘illegal aliens did not make it across,’ Fox reported.
Fronton became a favorite Mexican cartel destination to smuggle people and drugs across the border, due to dense forest and vegetation which made it difficult to patrol.
Texas DPS Lieutenant Chris Olivarez told Fox that state officials ‘had enough’ in October and launched a full-scale crackdown, clearing out the vegetation and brush to make it impossible for cartels to move through the area covertly.
Governor Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star targeting cartels in the area, sending a letter to the Biden-Harris administration criticizing their handling of the border crisis.
‘For years, the cartels were ‘running rampant’ in Fronton Island’s ‘thick vegetation’ and ‘bullet-pocked structures’ along the river to stage illegal entries,’ he wrote.
‘I will not cede state land to transnational criminal cartels smuggling people, weapons, and drugs. Nor will I sit idly by as these threats endanger Texas law enforcement and Texas communities.’
Footage shows a group of men holding weapons walking along the riverbank
Fronton became a favorite Mexican cartel destination to smuggle people and drugs across the border thanks to dense vegetation
American Border Patrol agents stationed at the Mexican border were fired upon by a suspected drug cartel in an effort to smuggle illegal migrants into Texas
The gunfight broke out on Monday near the disputed territory of Fronton, Texas, exactly one week after President Donald Trump returned to office and began his sweeping deportation crackdown
The cartel has reportedly ‘given orders to shoot at agents recently.’ No agents were injured in Monday’s shootout
Trump vowed to crack down on illegal migration upon his return to the White House
A member of the Texas Army National Guard helps a migrant mother and daughter from China cross over a fence after the group was smuggled across the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico in Fronton, Texas in 2023
Authorities have since confirmed that attempts to illegally enter the country are at record lows, with less than 600 new arrivals on Sunday
Migrants wait to be processed by the Mexican refugee commission
President Trump campaigned on a pledge to rid America of illegal immigrants and has stuck to his word, immediately beginning the largest mass deportation drive on record in the US.
And authorities have since confirmed that attempts to illegally enter the country are at record lows, with less than 600 new arrivals on Sunday.
ICE officers have been storming properties in sanctuary cities and carrying out deportations as part of Trump’s anti-immigration scheme.
More than 3,500 people have been arrested by ICE agents since Trump’s inauguration last Monday, Axios reports.
The Del Rio sector – which was dealing with upwards of 4,000 crossings each day at the height of the crisis in December 2023, recorded just 60 on Sunday.
In the final days of the Biden administration, anywhere between 1,200 to 1,400 people were arriving daily to enter the US.
There are an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security statistics.
‘In the first week of the Trump Administration, we have fulfilled President Trump’s promise to the American people to arrest and deport violent criminals illegally in the country,’ the Department said in a statement.
‘In one week, law enforcement officials have removed and returned 7,300 illegal aliens… including hundreds of convicted criminals.’
Deportation flights to Jordan, Brazil, Mexico and El Salvador have all taken place, authorities said.
Migrants wait for a bus to take them to a processing center after turning themselves over to US Border Patrol in Fronton
Fronton became a favorite Mexican cartel destination to smuggle people and drugs across the border, due to dense forest and vegetation which made it difficult to patrol
Texas DPS Lieutenant Chris Olivarez told Fox that state officials ‘had enough’ in October and launched a full-scale crackdown, clearing out the vegetation and brush to make it impossible for cartels to move through the area covertly
A drone view shows giant tents, where Mexican authorities are building a temporary shelter for migrants deported from the United States
A woman is devastated by the suspension of procedures at the Mexican refugee commission
Upon returning to the White House, President Trump declared Mexican drug cartels ‘foreign terrorist organizations’ and said there was a ‘national emergency’ at the border.
Around 1,500 active troops were deployed to the nearly 2,000-mile border this week, including 500 Marines from Camp Pendleton in California.
The Pentagon expects additional troops to be ordered to deploy in the next few days as defense and homeland security leaders iron out requests for more support.
Trump has reinstated a ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy – under which people who apply to enter the US from Mexico must remain there until their application has been decided.
The White House has also halted an asylum program for people fleeing authoritarian regimes in Central and South America, leaving thousands of people stranded on the Mexican side of the border.