Agents feared Mexican drug cartel attack on border dam

By DANE SCHILLER and JAMES PINKERTON
Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle
June 2, 2010, 10:15PM


Chronicle file
This 2001 photo shows Falcon Dam, a reservoir on the lower Rio Grande, that reportedly was threatened.


An alleged plot by a Mexican drug cartel to blow up a dam along the Texas border — and unleash billions of gallons of water into a region with millions of civilians — sent American police, federal agents and disaster officials secretly scrambling last month to thwart such an attack, authorities confirmed Wednesday.

Whether or not the cartel, which is known to have stolen bulk quantities of gunpowder and dynamite, could have taken down the 5-mile-long Falcon Dam may never be known since the attack never came to pass.

It may have been derailed by a stepped-up presence by the Mexican military, which was acting in part on intelligence from the U.S. government, sources said.

The warning, which swung officials into action, was based on what the federal government contends were “serious and reliable sourcesâ€