(NewsNation) — Gunfire and burning vehicles in the Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo led U.S. officials to briefly close a border crossing at Laredo, Texas, on Monday. Officials also closed the U.S. consulate in Nuevo Laredo after it was hit by gunfire.

The violence erupted shortly after Mexican authorities arrested Juan Gerardo Trevino, a high-profile cartel leader from the Northeast Cartel.

Trevino, who was known as “El Huevo,” was one of U.S. Border Control and Customs’ most wanted criminals before he was captured on Monday. His arrest marks a significant blow to the Northeast Cartel’s power in the area — a fact not lost on rival gangs.

Now, local officials say Trevino’s arrest has created a power vacuum.

“One group is not happy because they caught their leader, the other two are saying, ‘Hmm, is there a vacuum here, maybe we need to come in.’ So there might be fights over the plaza because of what happened, capturing that high-ranking individual,” said U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, from Laredo, Texas.

The outbreak of violence happened to occur on the same day Texas Gov. Greg Abbott replaced the leader of the Texas Military Department, the person in charge of the state’s highly controversial Operation Lone Star mission.

Launched in March 2021, Operation Lone Star sent thousands of Texas National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to counter illegal immigration and stop the flow of drugs into America, but the mission has been plagued by issues including complaints of poor working conditions, equipment shortages and delayed paychecks.

Those problems will be the focus of Gen. Thomas Suelzer, who is taking over the state’s military department from Gen. Tracy Norris. Norris has been in charge for the last two years.

Davis Winkie, a reporter with Army Times who first broke the story on the operational problems with Operation Lone Star, thinks there’s more to the story, noting Norris’ short time served.

“Yes, Norris’ two-year appointment had expired but her predecessor did seven years. It’s pretty common for an adjutant general to be in service for years or decades, so this is likely an early exit,” said Winkie.

Last week, U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released its annual report, showing record-low deportations of illegal immigrants in 2021.

The nearly 70% decrease in deportations from the previous year comes as the number of border encounters remains high. Border agents reported 1,734,686 migrant encounters along the southern border in fiscal year 2021, a 280% increase from the year before.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, through the first four months of fiscal year 2022, border agents have reported 672,838 migrant encounters along the southern border, which puts the country on pace to surpass 2,000,000 by the end of the year.