Coast Guard Gets Pulled Into A Border Gunfight

Coast Guard personnel stationed along the Texas border exchanged gunfire with shooters in Mexico last week.

The incident happened on September 26 as Coast Guard members were apprehending a group of migrants near the small town of Garceno, Texas, according to Stars and Stripes. The first shots were fired by individuals in Mexico.

The Coast Guard responded by returning fire, the outlet reported.

“No injuries to Coast Guard or other personnel were reported, and no damage to Coast Guard assets or equipment was reported,” the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard and other federal agencies are investigating the incident, according to Stars and Stripes.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said on Sunday that the embassy “is helping coordinate with Mexican forces deploying to the border area where U.S. Coast Guardsmen were fired upon.”

“Mexican military commanders will communicate directly with deployed U.S. forces. 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,” Johnson said.

“Any threats from criminal or terrorist elements on either side of the border will be swiftly addressed,” he added.

Through an operation dubbed “Operation River Wall” that launched in October 2025, the Coast Guard has deployed additional boats, shallow watercraft, command and control assets, and tactical teams to help secure the border.

“U.S. Coast Guard is the best in the world at tactical boat operations and maritime interdiction at sea, along our coasts, and in riverine environments,” Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, acting commandant of the Coast Guard, said at the start of the deployment. “Through Operation River Wall, the Coast Guard is controlling the U.S. southern border along the Rio Grande River in eastern Texas.”

The Pentagon said Friday that it has moved hundreds of troops and their equipment to the Rio Grande Valley, where the shooting occurred, according to Stars and Stripes.

The deployment is “part of planned preparations to address historically observed seasonal increases in attempted illegal activity,” the military’s Joint Task Force-Southern Border told Stars and Stripes.

“The Sept. 26 Coast Guard encounter is an example of this uptick in illegal activity,” the task force said in a statement.

Border crossings in the Rio Grande Valley have dropped dramatically since President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. Recorded illegal border crossings in the region topped 46,000 in August 2023, compared to roughly 2,100 in August 2026, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.