Southwest
Mexican cartels fire at Border Patrol agents as Trump ramps up enforcement: officials
U.S. Border Patrol agents exchanged gunfire with suspected cartel members near the U.S.-Mexican border on Monday, as the U.S. government’s response against criminal migrants continues to intensify.
The gunfire exchange – which happened exactly one week after President Donald Trump began ramping up border security on his first day in office – occurred at around 2 p.m. local time near Fronton, Texas.
A group of illegal aliens was attempting to cross the Rio Grande while bullets were fired, but did not make it across. Neither the Border Patrol agents nor the suspected cartel members were hit.
President Trump recently designated Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
The area where the gunfire exchange took place is near Fronton Island, also unofficially known as “Cartel Island” due to the criminal activity there. In an interview with Fox News Digital in 2023, Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said that she declared the land as Texas territory – even though it had not officially been before – to grant law enforcement the right to patrol there.
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A US Border Patrol officer deploys on the Rio Grande on a patrol of the US-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, on January 24, 2025. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
“One of the things that the General Land Office does is determine the center of a waterway,” Buckingham said at the time. “Everything that is the center of the Rio Grande and north, of course, the state of Texas and the United States territory.”
“The land just hadn’t been accurately declared as it was forming in the river. That’s why we had to step in and officially declare it Texas territory.”
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Wilderness surrounds the banks of the Rio Grande River, which is the border between the United States and Mexico in this part of rural Texas, on December 1, 2023 in Fronton, Starr County, Texas. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
Last week, a Fox News Digital exclusive found that a sharp drop in illegal immigrant encounters occurred in the first days of the Trump administration – 35% lower than the final three days of the Biden administration.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sources said that there were 1,288 encounters nationwide on Jan. 17, then 1,266 on Jan. 18 and 1,354 on Jan. 19. The 3,908 encounters in the last few days of the Biden administration countered the 2,523 encounters in the first three days of the Trump administration: 1,073; 736; and 714 from Jan. 20 to Jan. 22, respectively.
The banks of the Rio Grande/Bravo River on the border of El Paso, Texas, United States with Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, on January 20, 2025. (Photo by HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
“Enforcing our Nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States,” Trump said in an executive order last week. “The American people deserve a Federal Government that puts their interests first and a Government that understands its sacred obligation to prioritize the safety, security, and financial and economic well-being of Americans.”
Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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The star-studded feel-good giveback event of the summer has returned. KTLA 5 is teaming up once again with Project Angel Food for the annual “Lead with Love: Going the Distance” telethon to raise critical funds for medically tailored meals delivered to people living with serious illnesses throughout Los Angeles County. The seventh annual telethon airs […]
A woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after she was violently attacked by a robber in downtown Long Beach. On June 18, Jennifer Silva, 34, was attending a World Cup watch party at a Hooters restaurant at 90 Aquarium Way. After the game ended, she left the restaurant just before 11 p.m. As she walked […]
Jurors deliberating the fate of the man accused of starting the Palisades Fire, one of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history, failed to reach a verdict Thursday afternoon, telling the judge they were deadlocked.
A spokesperson from the United States Attorney’s Office told KTLA that jurors will continue to deliberate until they reach a verdict or give up.
Jonathan Rinderknecht, 30, a former Uber driver and one-time Pacific Palisades resident, is accused of starting the Lachman Fire on New Year’s Eve. The fire continued to smolder underground for about a week, even after Los Angeles firefighters believed it had been extinguished.
Flames reignited on Jan. 7, erupting into the deadly Palisades Fire that killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes in the upscale community, authorities said.
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A courtroom sketch of Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, during his initial court appearance on Oct. 23, 2025. (Bill Robles) -
The U.S. Dept. of Justice booking photo of Jonathan Rinderknecht over the Palisades Fire devastation in Malibu, California in January 2025 (AP).
Prosecutors argued that Rinderknecht deliberately set the fire, claiming he had grown increasingly resentful of wealthy residents and viewed Pacific Palisades as a symbol of that frustration.
“Their case, though circumstantial, is strong,” KTLA legal analyst Alison Triessl said. “The defense is relying on, can they (prosecutors) show beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Rinderknecht actually started this fire and it wasn’t the result of fireworks or some intervening cause.”
The defense argued there is no direct physical evidence tying Rinderknecht to the fire and said the prosecution’s case relies entirely on circumstantial evidence. Rinderknecht did not testify during the trial.
Defense attorney Steve Haney spoke outside the courthouse Wednesday about why he believes it will be difficult for prosecutors to prove how the fire started.
“The lack of scene preservation. The fact that they got there after a lot of the evidence was missing. Not a lot of direct evidence. This is a circumstantial case, which is always difficult as a prosecutor to prove,” Haney said.
Rinderknecht, who was arrested and indicted last October, faces up to 45 years in prison if found guilty of three arson counts, including destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire.
Tony Kurzweil contributed to this report
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