Rio Grande Guardian's Podcast

PHARR, Texas - Mario Guerrero, CEO of the South Texas Builders Association, says the region’s banks are also being impacted ICE’s raids on construction sites in the Rio Grande Valley.

Guerrero called a meeting recently with U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar to discuss the economic impact the raids are having on the building industry. More than 20 construction company owners attended. 

The building industry representatives said jobs are being delayed because workers, undocumented or otherwise, are not showing up at the construction sites. He said ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers are rounding up all t...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Former state Sen. Eddie Lucioo, Jr., has not been able to give away as many turkeys to the less fortunate this year, in part because federal funding to the food banks has been cut.

Normally, Lucio would purchase the turkeys at a competitive price from local food banks and distribute them to those in need in Cameron, Willacy, and Hidalgo counties. This year, however, the 25th year he has been doing it, he has had to pay for them from the large distributors at the normal price.

And so, he has had...

MCALLEN, Texas - Ralph Garcia, interim chief operating officer for McAllen Economic Development Corporation, has given a brief update on the various projects the group is working on. 

“Right now, the EDC is working with about 25 active projects. This represents a total of about three million square feet of space. Estimated jobs are about 8,000 and the economic impact of that is roughly about $5 billion dollars,” Garcia said a quarterly stakeholders meeting.

“Primarily, our companies are coming from France, Sweden, Mexico, the US and Japan. Those are the activities that we're seeing right now.”

Garcia sa...

MCALLEN, Texas - McAllen International Airport continues to capture the biggest share of the passenger market in the Rio Grande Valley, the city’s director of aviation reports.

Jeremy Santoscoy gave an update on airport activity at a recent McAllen Economic Development Corporation stakeholders meeting. 

“Through Quarter 3, we’re at about 863,000 total passengers, which is a slight decrease year-over-year, (a drop of) about two and a half percent,” Santoscoy said.

“We continue to see the majority market share, the value is about 48 percent, with Harlingen following at 40 percent and Brownsville at 12 percent.”

Harlingen i...

MCALLEN, Texas - Ruben Alfaro, development engineer for Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority, gave an update on the group’s strategic plan when he spoke at a McAllen Economic Development Corporation stakeholders meeting.

That strategic plan includes the long-awaited Hidalgo County Loop. Alfaro said HCRMA is making good progress.

“The key point I wanted to get across is the progress that we are making in terms of construction and where we are going as an RMA,” Alfaro told the RGG Business Journal, at the end of the meeting. 

“We need everyone in the county ti...

PHARR, TEXAS – RioPlex fu eel anfitrion de una ceremonia de colocacion para La Bonanza Avocados, una compañia familiar de aguacates proveniente de Uruapan, Michoacán el 14 de Nov. Invitados de la ceremonia incluyeron mas de 20 lideres de Negocios de Michoacán, que se encontraban en una mission commercial que incluyo una visita a SpaceX en Starbase. La ceremonia de colocacion se llevo a cabo en la Esquina de Las Milpas y Veterans Road en Pharr. La ceremonia incluyo discursos del alcalde the Pharr el Dr. Ambrosio Hernandez, el director de RioPlex, Joaquin Spammer, y el president de La Bonan...

PHARR, TEXAS – RioPlex fu eel anfitrion de una ceremonia de colocacion para La Bonanza Avocados, una compañia familiar de aguacates proveniente de Uruapan, Michoacán el 14 de Nov. Invitados de la ceremonia incluyeron mas de 20 lideres de Negocios de Michoacán, que se encontraban en una mission commercial que incluyo una visita a SpaceX en Starbase. La ceremonia de colocacion se llevo a cabo en la Esquina de Las Milpas y Veterans Road en Pharr. La ceremonia incluyo discursos del alcalde the Pharr el Dr. Ambrosio Hernandez, el director de RioPlex, Joaquin Spammer, y el president de La Bonan...

EDINBURG, Texas - Ruben Cortez is vice president of the Texas Association of Education Service Centers.

In a recent interview with the Rio Grande Guardian, Cortez spoke about a larger than average drop off in school attendance by students living in heavily Hispanic areas.

Cortez was reticent about blaming the reduction on raids by ICE. However, leaders within La Joya ISD, Sharyland ISD, Brownsville ISD and McAllen ISD have all spoken about this being a factor.

Here is the interview.

Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news...

MCALLEN, Texas - The North American Development Bank is to allocate up to $100 million from its retained earnings over the next five years for urgent water conservation projects along the U.S.-Mexico border.

NADBank Managing Director John Beckham made the announcement at the two-day Rio Grande/Rio Bravo Binational River Symposium hosted by the Texas Water Foundation at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in McAllen.

Beckham said the grant money will be come out of the $400 million Water Resiliency Fund that the NADBank board of directors approved in August. The WRF has been set...

PRIMERA, Texas - The City of Primera recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Richmond Hills Drainage Project.

Cameron County Drainage District No. 5 played a key role in the project.

CCDD5 provided a timeline of the events:

Developer Julio Carranza required CCDD5 to use five acres on his property for drainage purposes. CCDD5 then partnered with La Feria Irrigation District to carry out the excavation work. The City of Primera then secured an ARPA grant from Cameron County to fund drainage improvements within the Richmond Hills subdivision.

Finally, the City of...

HARLINGEN, Texas - The Free Trade Bridge at Los Indios is the crown jewel of Cameron County’s international bridge system, according to the county’s economic development director, Ramiro Aleman.

The bridge is also known as “Los Indios-Lucio Blanco Bridge”, “Puente Lucio Blanco-Los Indios”, “Puente Internacional Libre Comercio” and “Los Indios Free Trade Bridge”. It is owned and operated by Cameron County. However, the cities of Harlingen and San Benito each receive 25% of the net revenues. The bridge facilities are located on a 127-acre tract of land.

Aleman spoke about Los Indi...

HARLINGEN, Texas - Rick Carrera, COSTEP's economic development director, gave an update on a project his group is working on to map all the automotive companies in the Rio South Texas region.

COSTEP stands for Council for South Texas Economic Progress. The Rio South Texas region comprises northern Tamaulipas, the Rio Grande Valley, and Laredo.

Carrera spoke briefly about the Binational Autocluster project at a meeting of the South Texas Manufacturers Association (STMA). The meeting was held at Harlingen Convention Center. 

STMA Executive Director Mike Willis invited Carrera to give an update. Carrera s...

LAREDO, Texas - Webb and Starr are leading South Texas in clean energy growth with new solar panels, wind power, and battery storage, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar reports.

The Laredo Democrat released a new update showing that Texas’ 28th Congressional District - his district - is a powerhouse in clean energy production – pairing renewable power with traditional oil and gas to lower energy costs for families and strengthen the local economy. 

He said that as a base for economic growth, the district ranks among the top in Texas for n...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Cameron County Commissioners Court is moving ahead with plans to purchase an ownership interest in the Brownsville & Matamoras Bridge Company from Union Pacific Railroad.

Brownsville & Matamoras Bridge Company co-owns Brownsville & Matamoros Bridge with the government of Mexico. 

Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño, Jr., said a complex negotiation process to acquire ownership began two years ago. He said the transaction is expected to close in late 2025 or early 2026.

“Securing the Brownsville & Matamoros Bridge Company is a transformative moment for Cameron County. We a...

PHARR, Texas - The wild fluctuations in bridge crossing numbers have made it hard to analyze longterm trends, says Pharr International Bridge Director Luis Bazan.

In his most recent report to the Pharr Bridge Board, Bazan said he will likely not have a clear picture of how things are going until the second quarter next year. The fluctuations have been caused in part by changes in U.S. tariff policy.

“You can see a lot of the ebbs and flows and a lot of the peaks and valleys that we...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - CIL Capital held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new manufacturing plant on Texas 48 in Brownsville, close to the Port of Brownsville. The 181,000 square foot facility will be known as Anchor Industrial.

The developers believe the $20 million project will generate 120-plus jobs. 

Carlos Garcia, a customs broker and president of Border Trade Alliance-Mexico, invited CIL to participate in the project. The facility will be built by Martín Anzaldúa of Grupo Río San Juan.

This audio recording includes the remarks of all the speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony. They were...

HARLINGEN, Texas - Cameron County Drainage District No. 5 is partnering with the City of Harlingen to improve drainage.

The first drainage project is the widening of the North Main Drain that the drainage district owns. 

The City and CCDD5 held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to kickoff the project.

At the event, CCDD5 President Steve Jennings gave the Rio Grande Guardian an exclusive interview. He said that his home has flooded four times in the four decades he has lived there. He said that is sort of inevitable when the land is flat and rises o...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Jesse Acevedo just completed a pipefitting course at Texas Southmost College.

In an interview with Ron Whitlock of Ron Whitlock Reports he said he would recommend the program to anyone because pipefitters are in big demand and the wages are good. 

Acevedo is about to start work for Bechtel at the Port of Brownsville. The company is building a liquefied natural gas export terminal for NextDecade.

Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.

PALMVIEW, Texas - U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz spoke about congressional redistricting and Mexico’s water debt to the U.S. at a top GOP dinner in Palmview.

The event - titled the Lincoln-Reagan Dinner - was hosted by Hidalgo County Republican Party and held at the Stallion Event Center. De La Cruz introduced the keynote speaker, U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton.

De La Cruz recalled a time she met President Trump and the two were looking at a map of Texas and the Gulf of America. 

“He turns to me an...

PALMVIEW, Texas - U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton says he wants to take to the Washington the same sort of creativity and courage he has shown as Texas attorney general. 

Paxton was keynote speaker at the Hidalgo County Republican Party’s Lincoln-Reagan Dinner. The event was held Aug. 21 at the Stallion Event Center in Palmview.

“I want to bring something different to Washington. The kind of creativity that I'm trying to bring to my job here, I want to take that to Washington. The kind of courage we’ve had...

PHARR, Texas - Dub Taylor is COO of Texas PACE Authority. He recently spoke at an event hosted jointly by the Pharr Economic Development Corporation and the Rio Grande Valley Partnership. It was titled the Pharr Commercial & Investment Summit and it was held at the Pharr One Center.

At the event, Taylor gave a presentation that included slides showing where a PACE project had worked in Texas. There were lots of examples shown in East Texas, the Panhandle and Central Texas. But there were no examples from the Texas-Mexico border region. The nearest were...

MISSION, Texas - The Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce held the latest in its Buenas Tardes Luncheon series on Aug. 13, 2025. 

It centered on a panel discussion titled “The State of Current Business.” 

There were six panelists: Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez; Rick Carrera, director of economic development for the Council for South Texas Economic Progress; Joe Quiroga, president of Texas National Bank; Juan Francisco Ochoa, Jr., CEO of Taco Palenque Group; Dante Galeazzi, CEO and President of Texas International Produce Association; and state Rep. Sergio Muñoz of Mission. 

MISSION, Texas - The Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce held the latest in its Buenas Tardes Luncheon series on Aug. 13, 2025. 

It centered on a panel discussion titled “The State of Current Business.” 

There were six panelists: Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez; Rick Carrera, director of economic development for the Council for South Texas Economic Progress; Joe Quiroga, president of Texas National Bank; Juan Francisco Ochoa, Jr., CEO of Taco Palenque Group; Dante Galeazzi, CEO and President of Texas International Produce Association; and state Rep. Sergio Muñoz of Mission. 

MISSION, Texas - The Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce held the latest in its Buenas Tardes Luncheon series on Aug. 13, 2025. 

It centered on a panel discussion titled “The State of Current Business.” 

There were six panelists: Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez; Rick Carrera, director of economic development for the Council for South Texas Economic Progress; Joe Quiroga, president of Texas National Bank; Juan Francisco Ochoa, Jr., CEO of Taco Palenque Group; Dante Galeazzi, CEO and President of Texas International Produce Association; and state Rep. Sergio Muñoz of Mission. 

MISSION, Texas - The Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce held the latest in its Buenas Tardes Luncheon series on Aug. 13, 2025. 

It centered on a panel discussion titled “The State of Current Business.” 

There were six panelists: Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez; Rick Carrera, director of economic development for the Council for South Texas Economic Progress; Joe Quiroga, president of Texas National Bank; Juan Francisco Ochoa, Jr., CEO of Taco Palenque Group; Dante Galeazzi, CEO and President of Texas International Produce Association; and state Rep. Sergio Muñoz of Mission. 

MISSION, Texas - The Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce held the latest in its Buenas Tardes Luncheon series on Aug. 13, 2025. 

It centered on a panel discussion titled “The State of Current Business.” 

There were six panelists: Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez; Rick Carrera, director of economic development for the Council for South Texas Economic Progress; Joe Quiroga, president of Texas National Bank; Juan Francisco Ochoa, Jr., CEO of Taco Palenque Group; Dante Galeazzi, CEO and President of Texas International Produce Association; and state Rep. Sergio Muñoz of Mission. 

MISSION, Texas - Joe Quiroga is president of Texas National Bank. He was one of six panelists at a Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce event on August 13 titled “Buenas Tardes Luncheon.

The panel discussion was titled The State of Current Business. 

In his remarks, Quiroga said there were positive and negative things to report about the current Rio Grande Valley economy. 

Here are his remarks. 

Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news video...

HARLINGEN, Texas - The Council for South Texas Economic Progress recently hosted a  Lunch & Learn session at Texas State Technical College. 

The event focused on RFI Best Practices and was organized by COSTEP’s director of economic development, Ric Carrera.

Carrera said RFI Best Practices is a crucial for driving smart growth and meaningful investment across the Rio South Texas region.

“We were thrilled to welcome a full house of regional economic development professionals to our latest Lunch & Learn session,” Carrera said after the event ha...

LAREDO, Texas - The 32nd Annual Pathways For Trade Symposium takes place at the Laredo County Club on Thursday, Aug. 28. The evening before a reception will take place titled the Trade Ambassador’s Dinner.

The symposium is being hosted, as always, by the Laredo Economic Development Corporation, which has served Los Dos Laredos for 58 years. 

This year, the symposium’s title is “The New Era of Trade: Perspectives & Opportunities.” The symposium will explore the latest trends, policies, and challenges shaping global trade. A big focus this year will be the appli...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - On Friday, Aug. 1, the City of Brownsville and their outside consultants, Freese and Nichols, hosted a community information session about their new Downtown Renaissance Master Plan.

Longtime Brownsville-based realtor Larry Jokl was sitting in the audience. At the end of the presentation Jokl got up and walked to the podium. After being given the microphone, he said he could not understand why the city planners and outside consultants had not discussed the planned Renaissance Park.

“We have not heard one word about what could become the la...

EDINBURG, Texas - Pam Bentsen Havens and her mother, Marge Bentsen, have explained why they donated land for a million gallon water tower in north Edinburg.

They said it was the right thing to do for the community. Here is the interview:

The Bentsens gave the Rio Grande Guardian an exclusive interview at the conclusion of a ribbon-cutting ceremony the City of Edinburg held to unveil the new water tower.

The new water tower cost $5 million to build. The money came from the City...

WESLACO, Texas - The Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council set up the Small Cities Coalition in 2011 and, potentially, 46 cities could participate.

Unfortunately, not all do, said LRGVDC Executive Director Manuel Cruz, at a recent meeting of the group.

But that does not stop the LRGVDC from providing great services to the small cities, Cruz said. These include programs to help with economic development, job creation, infrastructure, and tourism. 

Here is an audio recording of Cruz’s presentation to the Small Cities Coalition.

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WESLACO, Texas - Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority Chairman Robert L. Lozano has made a plea for unity when it comes to transportation projects across the region.

Lozano made his comments at a special meeting of the Rio Grande Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization policy board. He is a board member of the MPO.

HCRMA did not get its proposal for more funding for Segment 4 of the Hidalgo County Loop project passed yet Lozano, in n effort to show unity, still voted for the staff recommendation of RGVMPO.

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MCALLEN, Texas - Julio Salinas is chairman of Texas Young Democrats. 

On Saturday, July 12, 2025, Salinas took state Rep. Gene Wu of Houston on a tour of key locations in Hidalgo County. Wu is minority leader in the Texas House of Representatives. 

Following the tour, Hidalgo County Young Democrats met with Wu. They spoke about the “devastating impact” ICE raids were having on Valley communities. And they impressed upon Wu the need for more investment in the Democratic Party in the Rio Grande Valley. 

Salinas said he would like to see Texas House members come do...

MCALLEN, Texas - The minority leader of the Texas House says he is going to ensure Hidalgo County Democratic Party gets the funding it needs to be competitive in the 2026 election.

State Rep. Gene Wu of Houston visited the Valley recently to hear from Young Democrats and grassroots progressives. In a meeting at the Hidalgo County Democratic Party HQ in McAllen, the young activists told him they felt the region had been neglected by the state and national party, thereby allowing Republicans to make significant inroads. 

Hidalgo County Democratic P...

René Xavier González, head of new business development and marketing for Sidee Industrial Development in Matamoros, has given a Mexican perspective to the idea of a bi-national auto cluster initiative.

The idea has been proposed by the Council for South Texas Economic Progress.

González said some companies may need convincing about the data they share but he thinks there will be buy-in.

“Sometimes there are issues about confidentiality and security. A lot of companies would rather kind of keep kind of a low profile,” González...

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas - South Padre Island City Council Member Kerry Schwartz wants to see an Eco Center District established to capitalize on the amount of interest there is in ecotourism.

Schwartz made his case at a special workshop meeting the council held to discuss expansion of the island’s convention center.

“Our mission really should be about ecotourism, because ecotourism is huge. I'd like to see us form an SPI Eco Center District. We already have an entertainment district for our beaches and all that,” Schwartz said.

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MISSION, Texas - Hidalgo County Commissioner Ever Villarreal has announced what he says is an “amazing” transportation project that will help transform the western part of the county.

Villarreal said the county, working with the City of Mission, is going to become “project sponsor” for two sections of the proposed county loop between Granjeno and Penitas and turn them into non-toll projects. 

By becoming project sponsor, Villarreal said, the county, working with the City of Mission, can help find funding for the two sections, ensuring they get built much faster. 

“It is an amazing proj...

MCALLEN, Texas - The former editor and publisher of El Periódico USA has launched a new binational Spanish language media project called Debate X Media, LLC.

The plan, says Jose Luis B. Garza, is to highlight the potential and accomplishments of the Hispanic population in the Rio Grande Valley and become a binational news agency.

“We have to project the importance of this region because it's totally different to other regions in the country,” Garza said.

In an in-depth audio interview with the Rio Grande Guardian, Garza spoke about his time at El Pe...

WESLACO, TEXAS - A spokesperson for MHP Salud says no staff member has lost their job because of federal funding cuts to the Affordable Care Act Navigator Program.

Heather Morgan is vice president of communications and business development for MHP Salud. She oversees brand development and management, reputation, communications, and positioning. In an email to the Rio Grande Guardian, she did confirm that the Weslaco-based non-profit has been informed of federal funding cuts to the Navigator program.

“MHP Salud has a long-standing history in the RGV. We provide multiple se...