The Trump administration is promising to continue being "ruthlessly aggressive" in responding to cartel threats to Americans.
He said that "President Trump will stop at nothing to secure our border, protect our communities, and dismantle terrorist organizations."
As reported by local outlet KRGV-TV on Tuesday, Saldierna was driving in his truck about two hours south of the border in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas when he drove over an IED which exploded, taking his life.
His death comes after weeks of growing concerns among border leaders about an increase in cartel violence and activity just south of the U.S. border.
On Jan. 27, U.S. Border Patrol agents took fire from cartel members near Fronton, Texas.
ACTIVISTS IN MEXICO REPORT FLOW OF MIGRANTS HAS 'ENORMOUSLY DECREASED' ONE MONTH INTO TRUMP ADMIN
U.S. Border Patrol after agents received gunfire from cartel members in Mexico while patrolling in Fronton, Texas, several weeks ago. (Texas Department of Public Safety)
"President Trump issued an Executive Order to designate Mexican drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Since 2019, I have introduced legislation to designate these lawless groups as FTO," he said. "Now is the time to codify President Trump’s EO to take the fight to the cartels and wipe them out once and for all."
Stressing the urgency of responding to the persisting cartel violence at the border, Mayra Flores, a former Republican congresswoman from South Texas, told Fox News Digital that Saldierna’s death "highlights the challenges that many face daily."
CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE
Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz, another South Texas Republican, emphasized ICE's role in reducing the cartel's ability to inflict violence on Americans. She told Fox News Digital she would "work with the Trump Administration to support the Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol and ICE Agents as they work to arrest every criminal and cartel member in our country and secure our border."
Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales, whose district covers vast portions of the Southern border, also commented on the deaths, telling Fox News Digital that "cartels have no regard for our laws, let alone the sanctity of life."
This split shows Rep. Tony Gonzales and the southern border. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images | David Peinado/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Gonzales said that he "fully" supports the Trump administration designating cartels as terrorist groups, which he said, "gives our government more resources to shut down their operations."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"They are terrorists and deserve to be designated as such," he explained. "This tragic death in South Texas is just another example of that."
Fox News Digital also reached out to South Texas Democrat Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez but did not receive a response by publication.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-admin-promises-ruthlessly-aggressive-response-suspected-cartel-killing-us-citizen