Mexico demands proof of the border shooting Washington used to justify its troop surge

Mexico has formally asked Washington for evidence behind the alleged cross-border shooting that the United States used to justify surging hundreds of troops to the Rio Grande Valley, President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday. 'We asked for all the evidence because we have no evidence,' Sheinbaum said at her daily press conference. She said Mexico's Army, Navy and National Guard had detected no shots fired from Mexican territory toward the United States. The alleged incident took place on September 26 near Garceno, a small community in Starr County, Texas. US Coast Guard personnel intercepting migrants on the Rio Grande exchanged gunfire with individuals on the Mexican side of the river, and returned fire. No injuries to Coast Guard or other personnel were reported, and no damage to Coast Guard assets. Who fired first remains undetermined; the Coast Guard says it is investigating the incident with federal partners. Washington's response was swift. About 500 troops and military equipment were repositioned to Texas's Rio Grande Valley, with the Joint Task Force-Southern Border citing the encounter as evidence of increased illegal activity. On Sunday, US Ambassador Ronald Johnson posted on X that 'shots were fired at US Coast Guard personnel' in the border area where the Mexican state of Tamaulipas meets Texas, adding that the embassy was coordinating with Mexican forces being deployed there and that 'any threat from criminal or terrorist elements on either side of the border will be addressed swiftly.' Late on Sunday, Mexico announced its own deployment: 'Operation Mirror' — 500 Army and National Guard troops, with helicopters, drones and anti-drone equipment, along the Tamaulipas frontier. Sheinbaum said Mexico had proposed the mirror operations as a precaution after being informed of the alleged incident. 'We have not been given any evidence that these shots actually occurred, but to prevent any situation a mirror operation has already been carried out,' she said. The standoff comes as the two countries deepen security cooperation — and as Washington's rhetoric hardens. On September 22, President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly that Mexico was the 'epicenter' of cartel violence and warned that Washington would use its military power if it deemed its interests in Latin America threatened. He has repeatedly threatened ground operations against cartels inside Mexican territory. The Joint Task Force-Southern Border now stations more than 10,000 troops along the nearly 3,145-kilometre southern border, and this year the military neutralised three cartel-linked drones with high-energy laser systems at the frontier. Sheinbaum has repeatedly rejected any US military intervention on Mexican soil, even as her government cooperates on security. The question now hanging over the Rio Grande is a simple one: did the shooting happen as Washington described it — and if the evidence cannot be produced, what exactly justified the surge?