Suspected Mexican drug cartel members involved in human smuggling were seen at the U.S.-Mexico border brandishing AK-47s and were taunting Texas Army National Guards and Border Patrol agents.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) noted that there had been multiple incidents the past week of suspected cartel members appearing next to the Rio Grande in Starr County, Texas, Daily Mail reported.

The gunmen, wearing tactical vests, were spotted and photographed carrying assault rifles as they checked out the border.

In a statement, the Texas DPS said that potential threats to law enforcement and the Texas Military Department would be fully investigated. The department noted that those responsible would be arrested and charged.

"We continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds in order to make real-time decisions and will adjust operations as necessary," it added.

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Suspected Mexican Drug Cartel Members Appear at the U.S.-Mexico Border

The appearance of the alleged Mexican drug cartel members at the U.S.-Mexico border came after Border Patrol agents arrested several migrants with criminal records in recent days, Fox News reported.

The migrants arrested include two Mexican drug cartel members, an MS-13 gang member, and three sex offenders with prior convictions. The La Joya Police Department arrested the two Gulf Cartel members. 

The MS-13 gang member has an extensive criminal history in the U.S., including a third-degree assault and criminal negligence causing injury with a weapon/instrument.

The MS-13 gang member was also convicted and sentenced to 18-months imprisonment by an immigration judge and was subsequently removed from the U.S., said a U.S. Customs and Border Protection press release.

For the fiscal year 2021, Border Patrol agents arrested 325 gang members. More than 150 of these gang members were arrested in Rio Grande Valley.

Earlier this week, five people were shot during an exchange of gunfire seven miles away in the city of McAllen.

Texas DPS spokesman Lt. Christopher Olivarez said the suspects came across the border from the Mexican city of Reynosa and were involved with Mexican cartel operatives and Mexican officials, Washington Examiner reported.

Mexican Drug Cartel Members Threat

Amid the large-scale migrant smuggling in July, a narco-banner threatening to kill Border Patrol agents and Mexican police was hung in Juarez, Mexico, El Paso Times reported.

The banner hung from a pedestrian bridge over Viaducto Diaz Ordaz warned municipal police, state, National Guard, and U.S. Border Patrol to stop messing with human smugglers or "polleros" or "we will kill you."

The message, which was in Spanish, said that bullets can also cross the river and the border wall.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) earlier said that it would investigate the threat, adding that it will be handled accordingly and not taken lightly.

The CBP noted that the threat is a reminder that criminal organizations will stop at nothing to continue their operations and exploit those being smuggled into the U.S.

Juarez police have come across an increasing number of migrant stash houses in the area in the past months.

Reports noted that around 431 migrants were found in stash houses in Juarez in June, and more than 250 others were rescued from such "inhumane" conditions in July. In some cases, smugglers told neighbors that they were running legitimate migrant shelters.

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Written by: Mary Webber

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