Texas Border Business
AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott today sent a letter urging President Joe Biden to begin an aggressive dialogue during his upcoming meeting with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador regarding border security and recent operational threats against American energy companies by the Mexican government. President Biden and President López Obrador are set to meet at the White House on Thursday, November 18.
“As a result of the inaction by your administration and the Mexican government, I launched Operation Lone Star in early March to help secure the border and combat the smuggling of people and drugs in Texas,” reads the letter. “I urge you to engage the Mexican government about ways to prevent the smuggling of individuals, drugs, and the continued flow of illegal immigrants into Texas. Additionally, I urge you to take action to protect American assets from seizure by the Mexican government, potentially in violation of international trade laws. Accordingly, I ask that your administration immediately engage in a dialogue with Mexican officials to discuss the immediate withdrawal of the Mexican military from U.S. owned business interests and convey that no further actions to undermine energy development, production or transmission activities will continue.”
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the Mexican National Guard was deployed to shut down fuel storage assets owned by Texas-based Monterra Energy. Other American companies face similar operational threats, remain closed, and are under the supervision of the militarized police force despite their continued efforts to work with Mexican regulators.
