Texas official issues warning after rancher killed by cartel IED in Mexico: ‘A terrorist attack,’ son says

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Texas ranchers working near the southern border have been urged to exercise extreme caution when traveling through Mexico after one of their own was killed earlier this month by an improvised explosive device (IED).

Antonio Céspedes Saldierna, 74, a Texas rancher who worked on both sides of the border, was driving near his ranch in Tamaulipas, Mexico, just south of Brownsville, Texas, when he was killed by an IED, KRGV-TV reported.

Also killed was Horacio Lopez Peña. Ninfa Griselda Ortega, Lopez’s wife, was hospitalized with injuries.

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 This aerial picture taken on Dec. 8, 2023 shows the US-Mexico border wall in Sasabe, Arizona. (VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)

In a statement, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said the deadly explosion was part of a “growing threat posed by cartel activity along our southern border.” He encouraged ranchers and those who work near the border to “exercise extreme caution.” 

“I encourage everyone in the agricultural industry to stay vigilant, remain aware of their surroundings, and report any 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,” said Miller.

“Our agriculture family is the backbone of Texas, and we must do everything we can to protect it,” he added. 

Ramiro Céspedes, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, told the news outlet that he was injured by an IED while deployed. 

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U.S. Border Patrol after agents received gunfire from cartel members in Mexico while patrolling in Fronton, Texas last week. (Texas Department of Public Safety)

“I consider this a terrorist attack because if I went to war to fight terrorists, and I’m seeing the same thing here to me – my personal opinion – it is a terrorist attack,” he said. 

The State Department has issued a travel warning for U.S. citizens in Tamaulipas, citing high crime and kidnappings amid ongoing violence between drug cartels. Government officials in Tamaulipas recently warned of explosive devices on rural roads near the border between Reynosa and Rio Bravo.

“Armed confrontations between organized crime groups have left explosive substances and materials on agricultural roads, holes and fields that represent a latent risk to the people,” it wrote in Spanish on a government Facebook page.

In an interview with Channel 5 News, a Tamaulipas state police spokesperson said IEDs are placed by organized crime groups to keep rivals off their territory, KRGV-TV reported. 

Image of improvised explosive devices (IED) provided by the Tamaulipas state government. A Texas rancher was killed earlier this month in Mexico when he hit an IED while driving.  (Tamaulipas state government)

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The Trump administration has designated several cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Cártel del Norte, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, the Gulf Cartel, and Cárteles Unidos.

Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.