Roughly 500 troops are being dropped onto islands in the Rio Grande by Chinook helicopters, days after suspected cartel gunmen opened fire on a US Coast Guard crew from the Mexican side of the river.
The deployment figure comes from sources who confirmed it to NewsNation, which also obtained video of the Chinook drops. Officials have not put a number on it publicly. Breitbart reports the size and duration are being withheld for operational security, with troops expected to stay staged in the sector for at least 30 days.
According to the Coast Guard, personnel from Coast Guard Forces Rio Grande were running joint interdiction operations near Garceno, Texas, on Sept. 26, when they took gunfire from across the border. They returned fire. No one was hurt, no Coast Guard assets were damaged, and the incident remains under investigation.
The Coast Guard said it "works closely with U.S. Border Patrol, the Department of War and the Texas Military Division to secure the border, disrupt illicit activity and protect the American people," and that threats to its members are taken "extremely seriously."
Between August and September, officials told NewsNation, the military used a high-energy laser in the Rio Grande Valley to take down at least 11 cartel-linked drones that posed a physical threat to troops and CBP personnel. The Rio Grande Valley sector covers more than 320 river miles, 250 coastal miles and 19 counties, and the cartels working it are watching agents and troops, using drones to guide crossings, and moving drugs.
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