Eagle Pass City Council “Passes” (Withdraws) Controversial Puerto Verde Partnership Agreement From Agenda

By Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2026 Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

EAGLE PASS, Texas — A proposed controversial partnership agreement between the City of Eagle Pass and Puerto Verde Holdings, LLC did not make it to discussion Tuesday, September 1, 2026 after City Manager Homero Balderas requested that the item be “passed” (withdrawn) from the City Council agenda.

At the opening of Tuesday’s Eagle Pass City Council meeting, Balderas requested that Agenda Item No. 16, dealing with a proposed Term Sheet Master Project Agreement for the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge, be “passed” (withdrawn) from consideration.

The item was subsequently taken off the agenda by Mayor Aaron Valdez without discussion by the City Council.

City Manager Homero Balderas and City Attorney Ana Sofia Garcia simply represented to the City Council that the proposed partnership agreement had been placed on the agenda as a matter of “transparency,” stunning a packed standing room only audience of citizens appearing to denounce the proposed partnership agreement.

No public explanation was provided during the meeting as to why the item was withdrawn, and it remains unclear whether the proposed agreement will return before the Council at a future meeting or whether City officials intend to pursue further negotiations with Puerto Verde or keep to their guns and deny any agreement or cooperation with Puerto Verde.

The removal is significant because the proposal represented another attempt to establish formal cooperation between Puerto Verde and the City of Eagle Pass regarding the company’s proposed commercial vehicle only international bridge in Maverick County.

The City has previously declined Puerto Verde proposals seeking an agreement or City participation with the project.

The latest proposal involved a 10-page draft Term Sheet Master Project Agreement outlining a potential public-private partnership between the City and Puerto Verde for development and operation of the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge, including its toll facilities, port-of-entry infrastructure and transportation corridor.

Under the proposal, Eagle Pass would recognize Puerto Verde Holdings, LLC, or a designated affiliate, as the project’s exclusive lead developer and General Managing Partner.

Puerto Verde would maintain primary authority over planning, engineering, financing, contractor selection and daily operations.

In exchange for the City’s participation and governmental support, the company proposed granting Eagle Pass a five (5) percent Base Equity Profits Interest.

However, that proposed interest would not have guaranteed the City five (5) percent of toll collections, gross revenues or overall project profits.

Instead, the City would participate at the final level of a proposed distribution structure after operating expenses, management fees, maintenance reserves, federal inspection obligations, debt service, development costs, construction capital, investor preferred returns and Puerto Verde performance compensation were paid.

The proposal also addressed the potential financial impact that the new commercial bridge could have on Eagle Pass if truck traffic were diverted from the City’s existing international bridge.

The draft estimated that Eagle Pass currently receives approximately $3.8 million annually in net commercial toll revenue, although that amount would have been subject to confirmation through an audit.The City currently earns an estimated $10-13 million annually from its commercial vehicle tolls at its Camino Real International Bridge (Bridge 2).

Puerto Verde proposed assisting the City in obtaining grants and supplementing remaining revenue losses through direct payments. Under one provision, grants secured with Puerto Verde’s assistance for other City departments could have counted toward the company’s revenue-support obligation.

The draft also contained a significant distinction regarding which provisions would become binding.

Sections dealing with the City’s governmental support for the project and Puerto Verde’s development and operational authority would have become legally binding following Council approval. Other provisions, including revenue protection, financial distributions and other financial protections, would have remained nonbinding while a final Master Project Agreement was negotiated.

The proposal would have also called for the City to support Puerto Verde’s efforts to obtain federal and state funding and consider special financing mechanisms and the possible creation of a port authority or similar district.

None of those provisions were considered Tuesday.
For now, the City Council’s previous position declining cooperation with Puerto Verde remains unchanged, while the latest proposed agreement has been pulled from consideration without a public explanation.

Whether Item 16 represents another closed chapter in Puerto Verde’s efforts to obtain City participation or simply a delay before another proposal returns to the Council remains unknown.

All citizens who spoke during the Citizens Communications agenda expressed their strong opposition to the proposed partnership agreement and requested the City Council reject the proposed partnership agreement.

Concerned citizens present at the September 1 City Council meeting vowed to remain vigilant to ensure the City Council does not reverse its previous rejection of Puerto Verde’s proposals.

The City of Eagle Pass owns two international bridges, one for non-commercial vehicles and another for both commercial and non-commercial vehicles. The City of Eagle Pass relies heavily on the gross revenues from the tolls of its two international bridges to support and fund its annual fiscal year budgets, drawing an estimated $13-19 million per year to fund its services and activities for its almost 30,000 residents.