A National Guard helicopter crashed near the US-Mexico border in Texas, killing at least two people, including one National Guardsman and three Border Patrol agents. The crash occurred in La Grulla, a small town in Starr County along the Rio Grande River.
Victor Escalon, South Regional Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, confirmed that the crash involved “a military helicopter on federal orders working with Border Patrol.” The helicopter was not part of “Operation Lone Star,” Texas’s border enforcement effort.
According to Border Patrol sources cited by Fox News, Mexican cartel members were watching the helicopter with one of their drones when it crashed. They captured footage of the wreckage and could be heard laughing in a clip posted on cartel social media.
The National Guard had recently ordered an aviation safety stand down for all Army National Guard helicopter units following two recent helicopter crashes, including one in Mississippi where two soldiers were killed during a training mission, and another in Utah where two pilots were hospitalized after their helicopter crashed during an exercise.