On Tuesday, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller blew the whistle on Mexican cartel violence that is threatening ranchers and farmers near the South Texas border.
“I urge all Texas farmers, ranchers, and agricultural workers who travel to Mexico or operate near the border to exercise extreme caution. The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) is a crucial part of Texas agriculture, and the safety of our agricultural community is of utmost importance. We cannot overlook the rising violence that threatens not only lives but also the security of our farms, ranches, and rural communities,” Miller said.
TEXAS RANCHER OBLITERATED BY CARTEL BOMB – A deadly explosion has rocked the U.S.-Mexico border, leaving a beloved Texas rancher dead in what some are calling an act of war. 74-year-old Antonio Céspedes Saldierna never saw it coming. A cartel-planted IED turned his routine drive. pic.twitter.com/Wq0pWpHALL
— Kyria (@KyriaCeleste) February 25, 2025
This comes after an elderly rancher was “killed by an improvised explosive device (IED)” on his own ranch, which is suspected to have been planted by the cartel.
Director of communications for the Texas Department of Agriculture, Maddison Jaureguito, confirmed that 74-year-old rancher Antonio Céspedes Saldierna is who Miller was referring to.
“The incident occurred on the Mexican side of the border,” Jaureguito said. “The rancher ranched on both sides of the border.”
Saldierna’s son Ramiro Céspedes, a US Army veteran, is also speaking out. He said that the blast that killed his father and a passenger is absolutely a terrorist attack.
NEW: Texas border rancher k*lled by a suspected cartel IED at the Southern Border, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture.
74-year-old Rancher Antonio Céspedes Saldierna was driving on his ranch when the explosive detonated.
According to the New York Post, Saldierna… pic.twitter.com/PZyY8isbgJ
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 25, 2025
“I consider this a terrorist attack because if I went to war to fight terrorists, and I’m seeing the same thing here to me, my personal opinion, it is a terrorist attack,” Ramiro declared.
He added that he just wants his father to be remembered, and wants to stop this from happening to anyone else.