MCALLEN, Texas — Willacy County Judge Aurelio "Keter" Guerra has proposed a bold vision to Mexican agricultural producers: utilize Port Mansfield as a strategic processing hub to preserve, can, and market fruits and vegetables imported into the United States.
Addressing a visiting delegation of trade representatives, growers, and agricultural suppliers from the Mexican state of Guanajuato at the McAllen Convention Center, Guerra emphasized that adding value locally to raw agricultural commodities represents a lucrative win-win for producers in Mexico and communities across South Texas.
The binational delegation meeting was hosted by RioPlex, a regional non-profit organization established to market and promote economic development across the Rio Grande Valley and northern Tamaulipas as a unified economic marketplace.
"We can perhaps, in the future, as a country, have canneries where we can turn your produce into a product that's already being produced, to be able to sell," Guerra told the audience, recounting a conversation with regional agricultural stakeholders. "We are already doing that now as a country, further north. But there's no reason why we can't do it here locally."
Guerra acknowledged that while Willacy County is historically rooted in agriculture, farming activity has declined since its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. However, he stressed that the county possesses vital logistical assets—including Interstate 69E, Class I rail service, and available industrial land—that position it to support binational commerce.
Central to his message was the untapped commercial potential of Port Mansfield, a shallow-draft port situated along the Laguna Madre in eastern Willacy County.
"We have a small port, Port Mansfield. It hasn't been developed fully for commercial, but I foresee here in the very near future we will have a port that will be active and perhaps facilitate what you all produce," Guerra stated.
By integrating port infrastructure with local processing capacity, Guerra argued, South Texas could shorten the distance between field harvesting in Mexico and consumer shelf-stability in domestic markets.
Drawing on his professional background prior to serving in public office, Guerra noted his firsthand understanding of produce supply chains and cold storage logistics.
"You know how critical perishables are. I do also. I have a history—I worked for HEB, which included the produce department, so I know how critical it is to be able to sell the produce when it's ready to be sold, and not wait a minute longer," Guerra shared. "I know how crucial timing is."
While supporting ongoing trade infrastructure improvements across the border region—including port-of-entry bridge expansions in neighbouring Hidalgo and Cameron counties—Guerra urged international trade partners to look beyond traditional border crossings and incorporate Willacy County into regional supply chain models.
"Willacy County is part of the region," Guerra concluded. "We're ready to accept it, and we're ready to convert it into even stronger, better, more efficient, and make it a win-win for you all, for us here locally, and for both countries, in all honesty."
