I can easily understand Mexico’s objection to the State of Texas-built floating obstacle in the Rio Grande, as described by my colleague Todd Bensman. It is designed to prevent illicit entries to the U.S. and might injure Mexican nationals seeking to cross despite it.
But that nation’s statements that the floating barrier will “obstruct and deflect the river's flow into Mexico from Texas” almost defy belief.
The barrier is in the middle of the stream, not cross-wise of it. And it floats! How can anything that runs parallel to the river and floats in it have anything to do with the flow of the water?
The 1,000-foot-long barrier is in the river near Eagle Pass, Texas, and is the work of the state government, not the federal one.
Much of Mexico is pretty dry and the writer of its government’s statement on the issue may never have had much personal experience with streams and rivers, but someone in the Mexican chain of command should have noticed this error.