By Jared Taylor
MCALLEN, Texas (Reuters) - U.S. Border Patrol
agents found a rocket launcher, assault rifles and explosives
in a bag along the Rio Grande river in Texas, the agency said
on Wednesday, suggesting a link to Mexico's drug wars.
Agents discovered the weapons on Tuesday on a quiet stretch
of the Rio Grande near Fronton, a small community about 210
miles south of San Antonio. No arrests have been
made.
"These deadly weapons could have had a devastating impact
on communities on both sides of the border and to our agents
and other law enforcement officers," Rosendo Hinojosa, head of
the Border Patrol in the Rio Grande valley, said in a
statement.
Inside the black bag were a rocket launcher, grenade
launcher, six assault rifles, 20 ammunition magazines for
various weapons and three packages of what appeared to be C-4
plastic explosive, the statement said.
Mexican drug cartels often rely on grenades and assault
rifles in an escalating battle among rival gangs and against
security forces. More than 42,000 people have died in Mexico in
drug-related violence since late 2006, when President Felipe
Calderon declared war on the traffickers.
Mexican officials have said the smuggling is driven by
heavy demand for drugs among Americans and the bloodshed fueled
by weapons brought across the border from the United States.
(Edited by Cynthia Johnston and John O'Callaghan)
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