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Photo: HOYTamaulipas
In response to the deadly attack, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is calling for heightened vigilance among those working near the border. “I encourage everyone in the agricultural industry to stay vigilant, remain aware of their surroundings, and report any suspicious activity to law enforcement,” Miller stated in a press release on Tuesday.
Officials are warning residents and workers to avoid dirt roads and remote areas, stay on main roads, and refrain from nighttime travel. Additionally, they are urging people not to touch any unfamiliar objects, as cartels continue to use deadly tactics to expand their control over border regions.
Céspedes, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, had survived an IED attack during his military deployments. Now, he is calling his father’s death an act of terrorism. “I consider this a terrorist attack because if I went to war to fight terrorists, and I’m seeing the same thing here to me—my personal opinion—it is a terrorist attack,” he told KRGV.
This is not an isolated incident. On January 27, the U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Mexico issued a warning after the State of Tamaulipas alerted residents to the presence of IEDs in key cartel-controlled areas, including Reynosa, Rio Bravo, Valle Hermoso, and San Fernando. Authorities have been discovering multiple explosive devices as rival criminal factions fight for control of smuggling routes.
Just days before the deadly attack on Céspedes, a Mexican government official was injured on January 23 after driving over an IED in Rio Bravo. As a result, U.S. government employees have been ordered to avoid travel in and around Reynosa and Rio Bravo outside of daytime hours and to completely stay off dirt roads.
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Amid escalating cartel violence, the U.S. State Department has issued a Level 4 Travel Advisory for Tamaulipas, the highest threat level. The advisory warns American citizens against traveling to the region due to extreme risks of violent crime and kidnapping.
The situation underscores the growing danger along the Texas-Mexico border, where cartel activity continues to escalate, putting American lives at risk. With the use of IEDs now in play, officials fear the violence is reaching new, more deadly levels.
