[WATCH] Mexican Drug Cartels Open Fire Near Texas Border

Mexican drug cartels exchange fire near the Texas border.

Members of two rival Mexican drug cartels opened fire on each other just miles from the US-Mexico border, claiming dominance over a popular smuggling route with.50cal machine guns mounted on trucks.

The video, provided to Fox by the Texas Department of Public Safety, shows at least four vehicles engaged in a gunfight on a road near Ciudad Miguel Aleman, a Mexican border city in the Rio Grande Valley directly across the border from Roma, Texas. The rival groups were identified by DPS as the Gulf Cartel and the Northeast Cartel, with at least one cartel using a thermal imaging drone to monitor the carnage from above.

The conflict comes as the flow of drugs and people continues to overwhelm the US border. Border officials have pushed for new ways to stem the flow and combat the cartels, including logistical support.