Texas-Mexico border conflicts

I wanted to show you some articles written by Christopher Sherman, the Rio Grande Valley correspondent for The Associated Press. He is writing some very interesting copy regarding mounting tension on our border. You can also follow Sherman on Twitter. Illegal immigrants and the cartels have both sides at a boiling point.

What sparked my interest and led me to find Mr. Sherman's articles was that he interviewed my friend Jack Cox (not the Roby one), a land owner at Falcon Lake near Zapata, Texas. They're having trouble with Pirates on that lake because the border runs through the middle of it. Cox is used to being in the middle of the fray, though. He was a hunting guide in South Africa and hunted elephants and lions himself. He was also an oilfield roughneck, which led him to Africa in the first place.

Looking at Sherman's articles in a time line tells a story in itself as tempers flare and patience runs short in the border cities.

Here is the cut-line for the photo; it was taken a short distance off-shore from Cox's camp:

In this May 27, 2010 photo, game wardens from Texas Parks and Wildlife patrol the U.S.-Mexico border on Falcon Lake. Since the Texas Department of Public Safety warned two weeks ago that boaters should steer clear of the international boundary that zigzags through Falcon Lake because "pirates" had robbed fishermen at gunpoint, most of the boats hunting the lake's famed large-mouth bass have stayed on the U.S. side, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Capt. Fernando Cervantes. On April 30 and again on May 6, heavily armed men robbed fishermen on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake. (AP Photo/Christopher Sherman)