Texas’ lone sugar mill closes, underscoring Mexico’s water debt to US

Miles of what once were thriving sugar cane fields in this rural part of South Texas are now just dirt due to the lack of water from Mexico on which growers here rely. The lack of water prompted the recent closure of a 51-year-old sugar cane mill, the only one in Texas and one of three in the entire United States. Outside the now-shuttered Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers Inc., U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, a Republican who represents this part of South Texas, stood with other lawmakers and border leaders on Monday. “This crisis was caused by the Mexican government’s failure to meet its obligations under the 1944 water treaty,” De La Cruz said. “It has not only jeopardized our agricultural heritage but as we can see it has jeopardized the livelihood of over 500 workers here in the sugar mill and poses a serious threat to our region’s economy and our national food security.”