Texan gunboats patrol Rio Grande

The failure of the federal government to uphold its responsibility to protect American citizens from the violence in Mexico, spreading over the boarder has prompted states to fill the void.

Till now, most notably, the Great State of Arizona. Well it should not come as any surprise that the Lone State State, Texas is not to be out done.


Texas rolls out gunboats to combat violence spilling over river border with Mexico

Law enforcement officers working along the U.S.-Mexico border are stepping up efforts to respond to what is in effect a war going on south of the border, where drug cartel violence has spun out of control.


In Texas, where the two countries are separated only by the Rio Grande River, stopping the violence from spilling into the United States means taking to the water -- with 34-foot-long gunboats that pack some serious firepower.

The stakes are high. Since 2007, roughly 56,000 people in Mexico have been killed in the escalating drug cartel violence. The U.S. government and local police agencies are working around the clock, 365 days a year to try and stop the flow of drugs, weapons and illegal immigrants into America from our southern neighbor.

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the Texas Department of Public Safety has rolled out the big guns: Four new “shallow water interceptors” are now patrolling the river, and two others will be commissioned soon.

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These gunboats are outfitted with bullet-proof panels, fully automatic machine guns and 900-horsepower engines. Their ability to cruise through the water at fast speeds is designed to not only serve as an intimidating force on the water, but also to fight back.

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