WATCH: Gulf Cartel Gunman in Mexico Aims AK-47 at Texas Police Helicopter

Video from the Texas Department of Public Safety shows what appears to be a Gulf Cartel gunman pointing an AK-47 rifle at a helicopter aircrew as they patrolled the border in Starr County. The gunman eventually flees and Mexican law enforcement responds to the area.

The Texas DPS helicopter aircrew was conducting air patrol operations in Starr County on March 18 when they observed a gunman in Mexico pointing what appeared to be an AK-47 rifle at the helicopter, a DPS spokesman told Breitbart Texas in response to an inquiry. The gunman eventually fled to a cartel hideout.

DPS contacted the Government of Mexico for assistance. Mexican military members responded to the location and found the hideout and multiple cartel members. The Mexican military engaged in a gun battle with the cartel members. The shootout left five cartel members dead and four others in custody, DPS officials reported.

Mexican military officials seized four rifles and a suspect vehicle.

DPS officials are working with the Government of Mexico for possible extradition of the gunmen to the United States where they could face state or federal charges relating to pointing a firearm at an aircraft.

Governor Greg Abbott deployed Texas DPS resources to the border under Operation Lone Star to help curb the massive spike in migrant crossings resulting from the Biden Administration’s policy changes relating to border security and immigration.

In late February, the Texas Military Department and DPS issued warnings to law enforcement officers and soldiers working under Operation Lone Star, Breitbart Texas reported. The statement warned those working the border security mission about possible retaliation from the Matamoros faction of the Gulf Cartel, Operation Lone Star, according to information obtained by Breitbart Texas. The warnings follow the arrest of Alfredo “El Contador” Cardenas, the head of the Gulf Cartel organization in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Obed Pena, on Saturday, as first reported by Breitbart Texas.

In February, Breitbart reported that cartel gunmen fired on Border Patrol agents attempting to stop a human smuggling attempt near Fronton, Texas. One month earlier, gunmen fired at agents and struck a Border Patrol vehicle as the agents attempted to arrest a migrant in the same area.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.