From Texas Standard:
Former Governor Rick Perry vowed to “fill in the gap left by the federal government” in 2009 when he formed special teams of Texas Rangers to secure the Texas-Mexico border. But in an effort to keep things safe north of the Rio Grande, it looks as if they may have overstepped.
According to a report by the Austin-American Statesman, elite units of Texas Rangers flew high-tech planes along the border in 2010, collecting intelligence on cartels operating in northern Mexico. The report included a note that reads, “Need to be careful here as we are admitting to spying on Mexico.”
For their part, Texas Department of Public Safety officials have kept pretty quiet on the matter: They say the aerial surveillance did not look into the interior of Mexico and focused on the Rio Grande. But some experts are worried that Texas may have violated international law.
Since the report was obtained by the Statesman, many questions remain unanswered, including specifics on whether or not the planes entered Mexico’s airspace, and how long these missions lasted.
Jeremy Schwartz, a reporter for the Statesman, joins the Standard to talk about what we do know about the incident.
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