Texas ranchers warned after U.S. citizen killed in cartel IED explosion in Mexico

An agriculture official has urged Texas ranchers and farmers to exercise extreme caution when traveling to Mexico following the death of a U.S. citizen in an explosion suspected to have been caused by a cartel improvised explosive device (IED).

“A tragic and alarming incident occurred near Brownsville, Texas, where a U.S. citizen and Texas rancher was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED),” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said in a statement. “This shocking act of violence highlights the growing threat posed by cartel activity along our southern border.”

Miller issued a warning to Texas farmers, ranchers, and agricultural workers who travel to Mexico or operate near the border, urging them to exercise extreme caution. He encouraged them to stay vigilant, be aware of their surroundings, and report suspicious activity to law enforcement.

“Additionally, you can avoid dirt roads and remote areas, refrain from touching unfamiliar objects that could be explosive devices, limit travel to daylight hours, stay on main roads, and avoid cartel-controlled regions,” Miller advised.

The Texas rancher, Antonio Céspedes Saldierna, 74, was driving on his ranch when the IED detonated, according to KRGV. The explosion also killed Horacio Lopez Peña and injured Lopez’s wife, Ninfa Griselda Ortega, who were accompanying the rancher.

The incident occurred in late January in the Santa Rita area of the Mexican municipality of San Fernando, approximately 60 miles south of Brownsville, Texas.

Authorities in Tamaulipas, Mexico, where the incident took place, as well as the U.S. State Department, have been warning of potential IEDs and explosive devices in the region amid ongoing cartel violence.

Prominent cartels in the region were recently designated as terrorist organizations by the Trump administration. The Cartel del Golfo (CDG), Cartel del Noreste (CDN), and the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) have been fighting for control of the area, a key smuggling route into the United States.