Texas Claims 9 Rio Grande Islands in Power Move to Deny Cartels Safe Havens:
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.” --->READ MORE HERE
'Texas is growing again': State claims nine Rio Grande islands; Mexico pushes back
Texas has grown after the state claimed nine Rio Grande islands as its property, clearing state and federal authorities to patrol more than 60 new acres of land between Texas and Mexico, according to an announcement last week from the Texas General Land Office.
Years of uncertainty over who owned the islands prevented Texas authorities from monitoring them. But after the GLO reviewed records for 20 islands in the Rio Grande, it determined that nine were under its control, according to NewsNation.
The GLO is now helping state and federal law enforcement officials access the islands, totaling about 66 acres, so they can “patrol, inspect and clear them of any illegal activity they may encounter,” Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said in a news release last week.
Buckingham runs the GLO, which manages more than 13 million acres of state land. The agency analyzed maps, surveys and aerial photos to determine who owned the islands, Buckingham told The Texan.
The land commissioner told NewsNation that Mexican officials significantly pushed back after Texas claimed the nine islands, which stretch from the Laredo area south toward McAllen. Buckingham said the remaining 11 islands are likely Mexican property based on their location in the river but that the state is still reviewing ownership of some of them. --->READ MORE HERE
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