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US Border Patrol Comes Under Cartel Gunfire On Rio Grande

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United States Border Patrol agents came under fire from members of Mexican cartels Friday in Texas while making rounds on the Rio Grande.

The agents were conducting a morning patrol by boat near Fronton, Texas, according to a news release from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, when they reported shots fired from the Mexican riverbank.

CBP reported multiple shooters, armed with automatic rifles, fired more than 50 rounds at the watercraft, making contact several times.

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The agents were, however, unharmed in the attack.

“Agents saw four subjects with automatic weapons who shot over 50 rounds at them,” CBP wrote. “The boat was hit several times but no one on board was injured.”

“This incident is currently under investigation,” the department added.

According to Breitbart News, the U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector Office immediately reported the ambush to Mexican authorities.

Do you think the attack serves as proof that America is in desperate need of a stronger southern border?

A “Tamaulipas law enforcement source” told the outlet that authorities were unable to find the cartel gunman who carried out the attack, but “did find ‘signs of activity.'”

The area has been a hotbed for cartel activity in recent months, acting as a smuggling lane for the organizations to bring drugs and human cargo across the Mexican-American border. This has apparently led to an uptick in violence, however, resulting in several bloody turf wars.

Cartel gunman injured two civilians while engaged in a firefight that lasted more than three hours earlier this week in Camargo, Mexico, Breitbart reported.

And this is not the only example of escalating violence among the Mexican cartels this week.

Some 250 miles west of Mexico City, nearly 20 victims of cartel-related violence were found in several locations around Uruapan, Mexico, The Guardian reported Thursday.

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Nine of the bodies — which were reportedly dismembered, bullet-ridden and in various states of undress — were found hanged from a bridge in the city for all to see.

In an interview with The Western Journal, Breitbart co-founder and former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon indicated the violent escalation is likely a result of the current administration’s heightened attempts to shore up the southern border in recent months.

As Advisory Board Chairman of We Build The Wall, Bannon currently oversees the building of a section of high-tech border wall in Sunland Park, New Mexico, and said the cartels are watching every day as sections of the wall go up, shaking their fists and growing more desperate.

“During that time, they had the complete spotters right there from the cartel. You still see that there every day. The cartels are quite angry about this,” Bannon told The Western Journal.

Bannon also argued that the deep logistical knowledge and outright depravity of the Mexican cartels is reason enough for anyone to want a wall along the Mexican-American border, stressing that anyone who believes these organizations are no more than common gangs “does not understand” the “sophisticated” enemy Border Patrol is stuck dealing with.

“These are very sophisticated paramilitary operations with very smart logistics. Very smart operation. Very smart marketing. These are very sophisticated. Anybody that thinks the Mexican cartels are not very sophisticated does not understand the enemy we have,” he said.

“There are sections up around northern Mexico — Juarez and sections around Juarez — that are much more dangerous than Afghanistan.”

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Andrew J. Sciascia was the supervising editor of features at The Western Journal. Having joined up as a regular contributor of opinion in 2018, he went on to cover the Barrett confirmation and 2020 presidential election for the outlet, regularly co-hosting its video podcast, "WJ Live," as well.
Andrew J. Sciascia was the supervising editor of features at The Western Journal and regularly co-hosted the outlet's video podcast, "WJ Live."

Sciascia first joined up with The Western Journal as a regular contributor of opinion in 2018, before graduating with a degree in criminal justice and political science from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where he served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper and worked briefly as a political operative with the Massachusetts Republican Party.

He covered the Barrett confirmation and 2020 presidential election for The Western Journal. His work has also appeared in The Daily Caller.




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