IED Suspected by Cartel Kills Texas Rancher

January 31, 2025, Antonio Céspedes Saldierna, a 74-year-old rancher from Brownsville, Texas, was killed when his vehicle triggered an IED in Tamaulipas, Mexico, just south of the border. The blast, suspected to be cartel-related, also killed Horacio Lopez Peña and injured Lopez’s wife, Ninfa Griselda Ortega. Saldierna ranched on both sides of the border, and the explosion occurred on his property in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, about 80 miles south of Brownsville. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced the incident on February 25, 2025, calling it a “tragic and alarming” sign of rising cartel violence. Tamaulipas state police say cartels plant IEDs to control territory, often catching civilians in the crossfire.