The body of a migrant has been recovered from the border buoys deployed by Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott in the Rio Grande River, one of two deaths this week in the river.
The second body, identified by Mexico on Thursday as a child from Honduras, was found in the river upstream from the controversial buoys, which were deployed last month to help cut down on illegal border crossings.
It's unclear if the first body — an adult male still going through the identification process — got caught in the buoys after drifting downstream after first drowning or whether the buoys, akin to floating fences that span roughly 300 yards, caused his death.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) denied the barrier was responsible.
"There are personnel posted at the marine barrier at all times in case any migrants try to cross," DPS Director Steve McCraw said in a statement.
Regardless, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador pointed a finger at Texas and slammed Abbott's buoys on Thursday, saying, "No good person would do this."
"This is inhumane and no person should be treated like this."
The governor's office maintains neither migrant died due to the buoys.
"The Mexican government is flat-out wrong," Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said Thursday. "Unfortunately, drownings in the Rio Grande by people attempting to cross illegally are all too common."
Cause of death is unknown in both cases.
Abbott first announced the measure to deploy the buoys in June, an effort that will be funded by the $5.1 billion approved by the Texas Legislature for securing the border.. The buoys at Eagle Pass, Texas, where the adult migrant was found, were the first deployed.
Abbott enacted the measures in response to President Joe Biden's failure to secure the border.
The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Texas two weeks ago, claiming Abbott violated federal law with the deployment of the buoys. It also called upon Texas to promptly remove the barriers.
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, called the buoys "barbaric" after the first body was discovered Wednesday, accusing the devices of causing the deaths.
"Texas Governor Greg Abbott's barrel traps have caused an asylum seeker to drown," Castro posted to social media site X. "The Texas Governor is knowingly trying to injure, maim and kill migrants seeking asylum in the United States with razor wire and drowning devices.
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