South Texas deputies authorized to fire into Mexico
The Bear on Oct 20 2008 at 4:15 am | Filed under: National Defense
EDINBURG — Authorities in South Texas said today that they won’t be intimidated by increasingly violent drug smugglers, announcing a larger Border Patrol presence and that more heavily armed deputies will be authorized to return fire across the Mexican border.
Operation “River Freedom Denial” will target areas along the Rio Grande in the southern tip of Texas where violence has risen lately with more ground and air resources, said Border Patrol sector chief Ronald Vitiello.
Standing with a Texas Department of Public Safety captain and the Hidalgo County Sheriff, Vitiello cited an exchange of gunfire between his agents and drug smugglers Monday and another incident this week of a smuggler ramming an agent’s truck in making his escape.
Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Trevino said the deputies he will assign to the operation along the river will all be issued fully automatic rifles and authorized to return fire.
“We are not going to be intimidated by the increased aggression,” Trevino said
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