Texas "gunboats" to patrol Rio Grande border with Mexico
Texas "gunboats" to patrol Rio Grande border with Mexico
SAN ANTONIO | Thu Mar 1, 2012 6:58pm EST
(Reuters) - Texas unveiled the second of six new 'interceptor' gunboats on Thursday, similar to Navy swift boats that plied the rivers of Vietnam during the Vietnam War, to patrol the waterways of the Mexico border.
The Texas Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Texas Highway Patrol and the Texas Rangers, said the 34-foot shallow water crafts would be deployed on the Rio Grande and the Intercoastal Waterway, which separates the Texas mainland from Padre Island.
"They have night vision capabilities, they have ballistic shielding, and the first couple of boats have fully automatic machine guns," department spokesman Tom Vinger told Reuters.
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Vinger said the boats would mainly patrol the Rio Grande, and would be geared toward stopping smugglers of drugs, weapons and illegal immigrants.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/01/us-texas-mexico-gunboat-idUSTRE8202FU20120301?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews&rpc=401