Mexican cartels are believed to have torched several commercial trucks waiting in traffic at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge in South Texas in an attempt to end the dayslong closure of the border crossing.
Cartel members on Wednesday afternoon ignited four tractor-trailers that were parked on the side of the northbound entrance onto the bridge, according to a report. Flames and black smoke stretched into the sky, and firefighters responded to the scene.
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“State authorities believe the trailers were set on fire by cartel operatives to pressure truck drivers to end the blockade,” a source familiar with the situation told the Monitor, a McAllen, Texas-based news outlet.
Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge Director of Operations Fred Brouwen told the publication that the trucks had not been involved in the protest but were parked on the side of the highway as traffic sat in a standstill. Three suspects have been detained by Mexican police.
The bridge reopened within hours after protesters and bridge officials reached an agreement.
Miembros de la delincuencia organizada quemaron 4 camiones para obligar a los traileros a levantar el bloqueo que mantenían en protesta por las nuevas revisiones que el gobierno de #Texas implementó. Así van las cosas en el puente internacional Reynosa-Pharr: pic.twitter.com/2eZu2zLgWI
— Ciro Gómez Leyva (@CiroGomezL) April 14, 2022
Abbott announced on April 6 that state troopers from the Department of Public Safety would begin conducting safety inspections on all commercial trucks entering the United States from Mexico. The inspections would take place just north of where federal customs officers inspect trucks seeking admission.
ABBOTT ENDS TRUCK INSPECTIONS IN PART OF TEXAS BORDER FOLLOWING MEXICO CONCESSIONS
The duplicate efforts caused delays at bridges up and down the Texas-Mexico border, hitting five-hour delays earlier this week. In response, truckers in Mexico blocked the entrance to the bridge in protest, barring all other trucks from getting across the Rio Grande and shutting down the country’s No. 1 bridge for the importation of fresh produce.
On Wednesday, Abbott refused to consider pleas from lawmakers and the business community to end the inspections, instead urging Mexican officials to agree to boost security on its side of the border if they want the ports to return to normal. One Mexican state, Nuevo Leon, has enhanced security on its side of the border.
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Cartels, or transnational criminal organizations, may exploit passengers and commercial drivers entering or leaving Mexico, charging fees to pass through an area. They also rely on the ports of entry to smuggle people, drugs, and other items north and south of the border, so a closure or slowing down of border crossings would hurt its business.
