LOCK and LOAD! Texas Deploys Gunboats To Patrol Rio Grande

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30-caliber sovereignty.

(KSAT) –MISSION, Texas -The Rio Grande that borders Anzalduas Park and the upper Rio Grande Valley has long been considered a favorite staging area for drug smugglers.

Lt. Charlie Goble said the state’s new Tactical Marine Unit hopes to help change that.

As a preview of what’s to come, the Texas Department of Public Safety put two fast-moving gun boats in the water, with imposing .30-caliber machines guns and a crew of six heavily armed DPS troopers, scanning the U.S. and Mexican sides of the river.
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Goble said the fully armored boats have the latest technology, including night vision. He said the powerful guns on board send a message to smugglers. “We hope so. That is our intention,” Goble said.

In June last year, Texas Rangers and other officers returned fire after they allegedly were shot at by several smugglers on the Mexican side.

Goble said his troopers would prefer not to use their weapons, “but we are prepared to use them if we have to.”

He said the boats go up to 60 mph with 900 horsepower from three engines, but also have a “nearly silent stealth mode” to avoid detection.

Goble also said the boats can operate in as little as two feet of water, but the usually depth varies from 15 to 30 feet.

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Don’t mess with Texas.

H/T James Heiser at The New American

Blazing Cat Fur links…thanks!