Southwest
Texas claims border islands used by Mexican cartels, asks Trump admin to secure and defend
EXCLUSIVE: They say everything is bigger in Texas, and the Lone Star State itself is growing a bit.
Texas has claimed two cartel-infested islands along the Rio Grande as part of an ongoing state effort to eliminate safe havens used by Mexican drug organizations.
In a letter to border czar Tom Homan, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham requested that the Trump administration secure and defend Beaver Island, a 20.3-arce island in Starr County, Texas, and the Roma Islands.
Both islands have been used by cartels for criminal activity, authorities said. The Roma Islands, which are 12.13 and 20.3 acres respectively, are located near Roma, Texas, and have been called a “smuggler’s paradise.”
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Beaver Island has been determined to be part of Texas. Part of the island is owned by the federal government. (Texas General Land Office )
The Texas General Land Office (GLO), the mapping entity for the state, recently received a request from the Texas Military Department to determine the status of the islands and indicate whether they are a part of Texas.
The determination will permit law enforcement to conduct security operations in the area.
Several islands dot the Rio Grande along the southern border, with many being used by the drug cartels for criminal activity, such as smuggling operations and stashing weapons, and to evade U.S. and Mexican law enforcement.
“These islands are important because when they’re literally in no man’s land and they don’t belong to any country, then neither country and have law enforcement or the military step on them,” Buckingham told Fox News Digital. “So they become safe havens for the cartel.”
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The Roma Islands along the Rio Grande are two islands owned by Texas. Texas has declared the island, as well as Beaver Island, as part of the state in an effort to eliminate safe havens used by Mexican drug cartels. (Texas General Land Office)
The cartels have built structures on the islands where they stash weapons, bombs, drugs and people, she said.
Beaver Island is partly owned by Texas and the federal government, while the Roma Islands are considered Texas land.
Once an island is designated as part of Texas, authorities will clear the area of vegetation, which cartels use to conceal their movements and illegal operations, and throw up razor wire in an effort to get full operational control, said Buckingham.
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham speaks at a news conference to commemorate state-sponsored border wall construction on Nov. 26, 2024 in La Casita-Garciasville, Texas. (Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images)
The move marks the latest by Texas to crack down on cross-border crime and illegal immigration. During the Biden administration, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star, an aggressive effort to combat the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into the state from Mexico.
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In her letter to Homan, Buckingham noted that Fronton Island, a 170-arce formerly lawless island in the Rio Grande, was declared to be part of Texas in 2023.
The densely-wooded area provided concealment for cartel criminal activity and had been a problem for decades, including gunfights and illegal immigration, according to law enforcement officials familiar with the area.
A map of Fronton Island on the Rio Grade between Texas and Mexico. (Gov. Greg Abbott)
The island was deemed by the TMD and Texas Department of Public Safety as the most dangerous part of the Texas border.
“Besides being the first woman land commissioner Texas has ever had, it’s pretty fun also being the first person to make Texas bigger in a few hundred years,” Buckingham said of the addition of islands to the state.
She further noted that the Trump administration has been cooperative with Texas authorities, resulting in a 95% reduction in illegal traffic across the border.
“It’s completely different than it is now,” she said.
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A man armed with a knife was shot by L.A. police officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call overnight, authorities said.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, officers with the Hollenbeck Division responded to an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Glenn Avenue in Boyle Heights at 1:45 a.m. Saturday after callers reported a male suspect was armed with a knife and had just assaulted someone in the complex.
Arriving officers found the suspect in front of the residence, but he did not comply with officers’ commands to drop the weapon. He then advanced toward the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred, LAPD confirmed.
“The suspect was struck by gunfire and remained non-compliant,” the LAPD Public Information Officer said on X early Saturday morning. “Officers deployed a 40mm foam round and ultimately took the suspect into custody.”
Video obtained by KTLA shows the man being loaded into an ambulance and taken to a hospital; officials said he was transported in stable condition, adding that his knife was recovered at the scene and booked as evidence.
No officers or community members were injured during the incident. The man’s name was not released.
Dangerous rip currents and high surf are forecast for Los Angeles County beaches, including the Malibu Coast this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous beach statement, warning of the potentially deadly beach conditions. The dangerous conditions are forecast to last from Saturday evening to Monday morning.
“There is an increased risk of ocean drowning,” the NWS forecast reads. “Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats nearshore.”
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A guide to surviving rip currents from the National Weather Service (NWS)
Minor Beach erosion and coastal flooding is possible through the weekend. The flooding is most likely to occur during evening high tides from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Beachgoers are advised to stay out of the water and remain near lifeguard towers. Jetties and tidepools are also especially dangerous during the weekend forecast.
“Rock jetties can be deadly in such conditions, stay off the rocks,” the NWS forecast reads.
Similar hazardous beach conditions are also in the forecast for Santa Barbara County. A high surf advisory is also in effect for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties this weekend, where 10 to 15-foot waves will be possible.
If you live or want to live in Los Angeles, the city controller has released a new dashboard highlighting some of the city’s most notorious problem rental properties, a tool designed to help renters avoid future headaches.
“This project comes at a time when tenants are reporting harassment and illegal evictions violating the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance and Tenant Anti‑Harassment Ordinance, but very few of the complaints end up leading to strong enforcement or real accountability,” L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a media release Thursday.
The new Top 100 Problem Rental Properties dashboard includes a searchable database of all residential addresses with reported housing violation cases within the city of Los Angeles, a ranked list of the 100 addresses with the most violations and an interactive map.
“There has never before been an uncomplicated way for anyone to look up years’ worth of violations by address,” Mejia said in the release.
Data for the dashboard was compiled from multiple sources, including the Los Angeles Housing Department, Los Angeles City Planning and the L.A. County Assessor’s Office, according to the controller’s office.
The release also identified the top three addresses with the highest number of reported housing violations:
1. 636 1/2 North Hill Place, Chinatown
192 housing violation cases
2. 11700 West Wilshire Boulevard, Sawtelle
166 housing violation cases
3. 6650 West Forest Lawn Drive, Hollywood Hills
113 housing violation cases
“Our new dashboard is an easy‑to‑understand public tool that we hope will help renters and organizers document patterns of harm, as well as put pressure on both landlords and the City to act,” Mejia said. “Everyone deserves safe, stable and dignified housing.”
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