by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief
(Worthy News) – The U.S. military is deploying approximately 500 troops to Texas’ Rio Grande Valley as Washington strengthens security along the southern border following an exchange of gunfire involving U.S. Coast Guard personnel near Mexico.
The deployment comes after Coast Guard personnel conducting joint interdiction operations near Garceno, Texas, encountered gunfire from the Mexican side of the Rio Grande on September 26 and returned fire. No U.S. personnel were injured, and no Coast Guard equipment was damaged, officials said. The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation.
U.S. Northern Command announced Operation Unified Resolve, saying hundreds of service members and equipment were being repositioned to the Rio Grande Valley to increase patrol capacity, strengthen monitoring and detection, reinforce critical areas, and support federal law enforcement agencies.
Some of the troops have reportedly been transported by Chinook helicopters to islands along the Rio Grande. The deployment comes as U.S. forces confront increasingly sophisticated cartel surveillance operations along the border, including drones used to monitor American personnel and facilitate smuggling.
Between August and September, U.S. forces used a high-energy laser counter-drone system to bring down at least 11 cartel-linked drones considered threats to military and Customs and Border Protection personnel, according to reports citing U.S. Northern Command.
Mexico is also strengthening security on its side of the border. Mexican authorities have described the deployments as coordinated “mirror operations” intended to improve surveillance and disrupt drug and human trafficking while preserving each nation’s sovereignty.
The buildup represents another step in the Trump administration’s broader campaign to treat heavily armed Mexican cartels as a national-security threat rather than solely a conventional law-enforcement challenge.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
