HARLINGEN, Texas (Border Report) — A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers on Thursday spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the lack of water payments from Mexico to the United States and its effect on the Rio Grande Valley border region.
The call included Republicans U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, U.S. Reps. Tony Gonzales and Monica De La Cruz, as well as Democratic Congressmen Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez. A few of the members who attended the call told Border Report they discussed how to force Mexico to repay its water debt to the United States under a 1944 international treaty.
Mexico owes over 700,000 acre-feet of water by October 2025 and officials highly doubt they can pay that amount before the five-year cycle ends. That’s because they have barely paid over a year’s worth of water, so far, according to the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission.