A Texas border rancher was killed earlier this month by a suspected cartel-planted improvised explosive device (IED), a grim escalation of violence along the southern border that has prompted urgent safety warnings from officials. The Texas Department of Agriculture confirmed the fatal attack, which took place just south of Brownsville, Texas, in Tamaulipas, Mexico, highlighting the growing danger posed by cartel activity in the region.
The victim, 74-year-old Antonio Céspedes Saldierna, was driving on his ranch when his vehicle triggered the explosive, resulting in a devastating blast that also killed Horacio Lopez Peña and seriously injured Lopez’s wife, Ninfa Griselda Ortega. The attack, reported by KRGV, underscores the increasing sophistication and brutality of cartel tactics in the borderlands.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller did not mince words about the severity of the threat. “The deadly explosion is part of a growing threat posed by cartel activity along our southern border,” Miller said, urging those in the agricultural industry to take extreme precautions. His warning was clear: ranchers and rural residents must remain vigilant, avoid remote areas, and stay on main roads whenever possible.
NEW: Texas border rancher k*lled by a suspected cartel IED at the Southern Border, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture.
74-year-old Rancher Antonio Céspedes Saldierna was driving on his ranch when the explosive detonated.
According to the New York Post, Saldierna… pic.twitter.com/PZyY8isbgJ
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 25, 2025
The tragedy struck particularly close to home for Saldierna’s son, Ramiro Céspedes, a U.S. Army veteran who survived an IED blast during his military service. Now, he finds himself facing the same horrors he once encountered overseas—this time, on American soil.
“I consider this a terrorist attack,” Ramiro said. “If I went to war to fight terrorists, and I’m seeing the same thing here, to me—it is a terrorist attack.”
The incident adds to a growing list of cartel-related violence spilling across the border, prompting heightened security measures. Federal border agents have been placed on high alert, receiving warnings about the increasing use of explosives and other advanced tactics by cartel operatives.
Under the Trump administration, certain cartel organizations have already been designated as foreign terrorist organizations, a move that underscores the administration’s stance on the severity of the crisis.
The explosion in Tamaulipas is not an isolated event—it is part of a broader pattern of cartel violence that has steadily escalated in recent years. Reports indicate that these criminal organizations are not only smuggling drugs and people across the border but are also employing military-style tactics, including the use of IEDs, to assert control over key trafficking routes.