MCALLEN, Texas – Federal authorities are investigating letters addressed to a Texas border county sheriff’s office filled with what is believed to be ricin. The incident follows days after a letter also containing a similar poison was sent to the White House.
On Monday afternoon, Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra confirmed that several envelopes sent to himself and to three of detention staffers contained ricin. Guerra said there is a federal investigation and was unable to provide further detail.
The South Texas ricin incident comes days after a woman from Canada allegedly sent a ricin-laced package to President Donald Trump. According to the Associated Press, the woman behind the attack has since been arrested at the Canadian border.
Ricin is a poisonous substance derived from the castor oil plant.
According to the AP, “a Navy veteran was arrested in 2018 and confessed to sending envelopes to Trump and members of his administration that contained the substance from which ricin is derived. The letters were intercepted, and no one was hurt.”
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.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.