Mexico sends 500 troops to border, asks U.S. for gunfire proof
Mexico has sent 500 soldiers and National Guard members to a stretch of the Tamaulipas border after U.S. officials said Coast Guard crews on the Rio Grande came under fire. Joint patrols on both sides have begun. But President Claudia Sheinbaum says Mexico has found no evidence that shots came from its side.
Mexico and the United States have started joint patrols along part of the Texas border. The move follows a reported shootout on the Rio Grande that Mexico says it cannot confirm.
U.S. officials say Coast Guard crews came under fire from the Mexican side of the Rio Grande on Sept. 26 and fired back. They were stopping migrants near Garceño, a small town in Starr County, Texas, across from Camargo in Tamaulipas state. No one was hurt, the Coast Guard said. Officials have not said who fired first, Fox News and The Washington Post reported.
The U.S. military has also moved hundreds of troops and their gear into Texas' Rio Grande Valley. It called the shooting an example of a rise in illegal activity.
Mexico responded with "Operation Mirror." It sent 500 Army and National Guard members to five border towns in northern Tamaulipas, Anadolu Agency reported. The force has two UH-60 helicopters, drones and anti-drone gear.
U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson praised the deployment. "Together, we intend to patrol both sides of our shared border, protect our communities, and make it more difficult for criminal and terrorist organizations to operate," he said. He said Mexican commanders will talk directly with U.S. forces.
President Claudia Sheinbaum is not convinced about the shooting. "We have asked for all the evidence that this happened because we have no evidence," she said Monday. She said no Mexican soldier, Guard member or sailor detected shots fired toward the United States.
The border itself is changing. Arrests of migrants crossing illegally have fallen below 10,000 a month, El País reported. Cartel drones are a growing problem instead. A U.S. military commander told Reuters there were 378 drone incursions in the past month alone.
The area is known for cartel control. A security firm counts more than half a dozen criminal groups in the towns where troops are now deployed, El País said. Camargo was the site of a 2021 massacre of 19 people, mostly migrants, by state police.
Some background: President Donald Trump has pressed Mexico for more than a year to act against cartels, which his administration calls "narco-terrorist organizations." Mexico already has thousands of troops on the border under its Frontera Norte operation. The new patrols fall under a security plan the two countries set up in February 2025. The Coast Guard has patrolled about 260 miles of the river under its Operation River Wall since October 2025.
What we know: Troops are deployed and joint patrols have started.
What we don't: Whether the U.S. will share proof that the shots came from Mexico.
Where outlets agree Fox News, The Washington Post and El País all report that the reported shooting happened Sept. 26 near Garceño, Texas, with no injuries, and that both countries sent hundreds of troops to the area.
Where they differ U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson treats the Coast Guard shooting as fact, while Sheinbaum says Mexican forces detected no shots fired from Mexico.