DPS shows off boats at grand opening of regional office

WESLACO — Texas Department of Public Safety officials unveiled a new fleet of armored vessels Thursday morning during the grand opening of their regional office.

The facility and the boats — armed with four machines guns and bulletproof glass — are part of the state’s latest effort to secure the Texas-Mexico border. Six of the shallow-water interceptors will begin patrolling the Rio Grande, international lakes and Intracoastal Waterway this year.

Officials displayed one of them at their new 112,419-square-foot regional office at the corner of Farm-to-Market Road 1015 and Mile 9 in Weslaco.

The facility comprises three structures: a two-story headquarters building, a driver’s license facility and an ancillary building, officials said. It accommodates 225 employees who will provide various services, including criminal investigations, emergency management, counter terrorism and victim’s assistance among others.

“Located in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley, the new office represents a noble investment in the life and liberty of the entire region,” said state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville.

 Lucio helped secure funding for the design and construction of the office, which totaled a little more than $32.4 million, DPS officials said. The Texas Legislature authorized it in 2007 during the 80^th legislative session.

The Weslaco Economic Development Corp. also helped secure the building, DPS officials said. The EDC donated 21 acres of land to DPS.

State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa said the regional office and the 900-horsepower vessels were an “appropriate response to the ever-increasing threat” of Mexican drug cartels.

He helped secure funding for the fleet and a “high-altitude surveillance aircraft” during the 82^nd legislative session, which appropriated $87 million for border security, according to a news release from his office.

The 34-foot vessels will be part of the new Texas Highway Patrol Tactical Marine Unit. They can easily move through the Rio Grande, with only about a foot of water needed.

DPS officials will name each boat in honor of DPS officers killed in the line of duty.

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Naxiely Lopez covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at naxil@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4434.

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