# Coast Guard Says It Was Fired On From Mexico Near the Rio Grande; Sheinbaum Says She Has No Evidence

No one was hurt in the Sept. 26 exchange in Starr County, Texas, but Washington and Mexico City disagree about where the shots came from.

- Section: [Border & Security](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/border-security/)
- Published: 2026-10-18
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/coast-guard-fired-on-rio-grande-sheinbaum-disputes/

A shooting on the Rio Grande has become a point of friction between the United States and Mexico, even as the two countries keep running joint border operations.

The Coast Guard told Fox News Digital that its personnel, working on a joint interdiction operation near Garceno, a small town in Starr County, Texas, came under fire from the Mexican side of the border on Sept. 26 and shot back. The Coast Guard reported no injuries and no damage to its vessels or equipment. The incident is still under investigation.

After U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson announced the shooting, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum asked for proof. "We asked for all the evidence because we have no evidence," she told reporters, adding that Mexican security forces did not detect shots from their territory.

The State Department says otherwise. A spokesman said Coast Guard personnel "were fired upon from Mexican territory" and that the available information was passed to Mexico "through official channels." Fox notes the department did not say what was shared or when, and U.S. officials have not publicly named the shooters or explained how they traced the gunfire. Sheinbaum has said Mexico's military stays in contact with U.S. Northern Command and the Coast Guard and that a "mirror operation" with the U.S. remains active. Her comments did not say whether Mexico received the U.S. information.

Background from the report: the Coast Guard's Operation River Wall began in October 2025 to deter illegal migration and drug smuggling along roughly 300 miles of the river. A Coast Guard spokesperson says the service has put more than 1,000 personnel and over 30 assets into the region. Mexico's Navy Ministry says it sent 159 naval personnel, 11 vehicles and two drones to the Tamaulipas sector. Northern Command says U.S. troops are being repositioned to the Rio Grande Valley ahead of a seasonal rise in attempted crossings.

Two outside views from Fox's reporting: Manhattan Institute analyst Santiago Vidal Calvo says Sheinbaum is under pressure from both Washington and her own left-wing party, and that her demand for evidence may reflect that. Border security analyst Simon Hankinson says gunfire near the river is not new and that cartel involvement is possible, though he doubts Mexican troops would fire across deliberately unless acting against orders.

The facts still open are the central ones: who fired, and from where. Both governments say they want to keep cooperating.

## Source

Original reporting: [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/coast-guard-firefight-puts-us-mexico-odds-despite-coordinated-border-operations)