Border Patrol hopes boulders will stop smugglers

MISSION — It may seem like a low-tech solution, but authorities hope it will help cut down on smugglers dumping their vehicles and drugs into the Rio Grande.

Federal officials have placed a line of boulders along the river at a spot commonly used by smugglers trying to flee to Mexico during chases with authorities.

Gates, cables and rugged terrain here don’t seem to be enough to stop the smugglers as they make their way to the river, authorities said.

“At this point, we’re trying whatever we can to stop them,” said local U.S. Border Patrol spokesman John Lopez. “And we think these boulders will stop them from going into the river.”

Crews dumped the rocks Wednesday where a cable-car line stretches across the Rio Grande at the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

Officials use the apparatus to test water and sediment in the river, but the location also offers a clear shot to the river and calm water to swim across to Mexico.

Kayakers use the site as a boat launch.

Between Peñitas and southern Mission, authorities have identified more than 30 vehicles — some more than 20 years old — left in the river after smuggler chases.

Lopez said the boulders would allow all “legitimate” traffic to pass through and would have a minimal environmental impact — yet hopefully would stop vehicles from plunging into the water.

“At least they won’t be going down to the river with the vehicles,” he said of the smugglers.

Border Patrol worked with the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Mission Police Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to put the boulders in place and determine which areas were best suited for the natural obstacles.

Another location where the tactic may be used is Pepe’s on the River, a popular outdoor eatery situated along the Rio Grande. Margarito Trujillo, owner of Pepe’s on the River, said in July that the smuggler chases have become more frequent recently. He has spent hundreds of dollars over the years replacing destroyed fences and repairing other property damage after traffickers bailed into the river.

Trujillo could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

“We’ll see how effective these are,” Lopez said of the boulders. “And we think they will be.”

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Jared Taylor covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.