Mexico’s government issued a statement condemning the claim by the State of Texas of nine islands in the waters of the Rio Grande with a long history of use by drug cartels to get drugs and migrants into the country.

In a statement from Mexico’s Foreign Relations Ministry, the country’s government said Texas lacks the authority to set borders with Mexico.

According to the document, a binational treaty from 1970 sets the border between the two nations. Only the federal governments of both countries can set the borders. In its statement, Mexico’s government said it would pursue the matter and ensure the treaties are respected.

Mexico’s response came soon after Texas General Land Office (GLO) Commissioner Dawn Buckingham announced Texas is claiming nine islands along the Rio Grande so U.S. and Texas law enforcement authorities could patrol and guard them to stop cartel activity in the region.

“Texas land will never become a safe haven for cartels, human traffickers, smugglers, or other criminal organizations,” Buckingham said in a prepared statement announcing the move.

The GLO’s determination encompasses nine islands, primarily in the Starr County area, totaling about 66 acres. As Breitbart Texas reported, those islands have been used by the Gulf Cartel and the Cartel Del Noreste faction to move shipments of drugs north.

In 2025, Los Zetas gunmen used one of those islands near Fronton, Texas, to hide while they fired at U.S. law enforcement, Breitbart Texas reported.  Due to a poor response from Mexican authorities, the gunmen were able to escape south. The following day, authorities stormed the island and found a narco-camp that had been used by the gunmen to hide while they provided security for their smuggling operations.

 Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected]. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at [email protected].