RioPlex Wants the World to Invest in the Valley. Its Leader Says 250,000 Adults Could Be Left Behind.
RIOPLEX: WHAT IT IS, WHO RUNS IT, AND WHAT IT SAYS IS COMING TO THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY
This report is based on an interview conducted by Sergio Sanchez on "Pulse of the 956," broadcast on 710 KURV and Radio United and streamed on the station's social media channels. Sanchez interviewed Mario Reyna, executive director of RioPlex. All statements attributed to Reyna and Sanchez below come from that broadcast unless another source is named. Credit for the interview belongs to Sergio Sanchez and 710 KURV. Additional reporting and verification draw on the Rio Grande Guardian, Texas Border Business, The Brownsville Herald, Texas State Technical College, the Port of Brownsville, Valeo, Saronic and the Texas Education Agency.
WHAT RIOPLEX IS
RioPlex is a nonprofit economic development marketing organization. It promotes the Rio Grande Valley and northern Tamaulipas as one binational industrial region to foreign and domestic investors.
It does not replace city economic development corporations. Its own website says it exists to amplify local EDC efforts and to attract foreign direct investment through coordinated marketing and investor outreach.
RioPlex grew out of the Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force, founded by Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez to reduce poverty by training residents for living-wage jobs. A CEO Group inside that task force, made up of business leaders from both sides of the border, proposed the RioPlex name and marketing campaign. When it was announced, the initiative was described as independent of Hidalgo County and the task force, and run and funded by area businesses.
WHO RIOPLEX IS: THE BOARD
RioPlex's website lists nine people on its leadership roster. Titles and affiliations below are as RioPlex lists them.
1. Joaquin Spamer, Chairman. CiL Group. Spamer founded RioPlex. CiL Group includes Commodities Integrated Logistics, an import-export and warehousing company with operations in the Valley and Reynosa, and CiL Capital, an industrial developer.
2. Mario Reyna, Executive Director. RioPlex. A retired Air Force captain with 20 years of service and a former dean of business and technology at South Texas College. He also coordinates the Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force. On air, Sanchez introduced him as "president of Rioplex Industrial Development." RioPlex's own materials use the title executive director and the name RioPlex.
3. Martin Anzaldua, Member. Grupo Rio San Juan.
4. Carlos Garcia, Member. BTA Mexico.
5. George Cardenas, Member. Vantage Bank.
6. Lucille Cavazos, Member. Waterford Gardens Assisted and Senior Living.
7. Morgan LaMantia, Member. Community and Government Relations, L&F Distributors, LLC. LaMantia is a former Texas state senator.
8. Nick Rhodes, Member. Rhodes Enterprises.
9. Rolando Pablos, Member. Cross-National Advisory Partners. Pablos is a former Texas secretary of state. He previously spoke to the Prosperity Task Force CEO Group on best practices as RioPlex was being developed.
What the roster shows: The board is drawn from logistics, industrial real estate, banking, distribution, cross-border business and government relations, with members on both sides of the border. The roster as published does not list representatives of labor, public education, environmental or neighborhood organizations. That reflects RioPlex's stated purpose as an investor-facing marketing group. It is an observation about composition, not a criticism of any member.
WHY RIOPLEX MATTERS TO THE REGION
1. One message instead of many. The Valley has more than a dozen city EDCs, a port authority and county governments, each recruiting separately. Judge Cortez has argued that Valley cities are like stores within a mall, and that someone needs to market the mall. RioPlex is built to be that single voice to outside investors.
2. It sells both sides of the border as one market. RioPlex pitches the Valley and northern Tamaulipas together: Texas logistics, ports and land on one side, Mexican manufacturing capacity on the other. That framing fits the current wave of nearshoring, as companies move production out of Asia and closer to U.S. customers under USMCA trade rules.
3. It reaches investors local EDCs rarely reach. Its Mexico City summit and embassy visits targeted foreign governments and trade offices, not just site selectors.
4. It ties recruitment to workforce. Because RioPlex grew out of an anti-poverty task force, its leadership publicly links investment to the question of whether local residents can qualify for the jobs. Reyna's push for adult diplomas is part of that pitch.
5. It is privately run. Because RioPlex is a private nonprofit funded by businesses, it can move faster than government bodies. The same structure means it answers to its members rather than to voters, and its finances are not subject to public records law. Readers should weigh both sides of that.
THE INDUSTRIAL PARKS RIOPLEX MARKETS
RioPlex marketing materials list 76 industrial and business parks across the region: 51 in South Texas and 25 in northern Tamaulipas. These are parks RioPlex promotes to investors. The listing does not mean RioPlex owns or operates them.
South Texas (51)
Pharr (15): Bahn Industrial Park, Cross Border Park, Keystone Business Park, Majestic International Trade Port, Monarch Business Industrial Park, Pharr Bridge Business Park, Pharr Industrial Park, Pharr International Industrial Park, Pharr Logistics Center, Pharr Produce District, Pharr Produce Industrial Park, Queenstown Industrial Park, Stewart Industrial Park, United Produce Park.
(Note: the RioPlex graphic lists 14 names under Pharr. See editor's notes.)
Brownsville (10): 802 Industrial Park, Ayusa RGV I, Coffee Port Industrial Park, Greater Brownsville Tech District, NAFTA Industrial Park, North Industrial Park, Port of Brownsville Industrial Park, South East Corridor, Veterans International Trade Center, Victoria Lake Industrial Park.
Rio Grande City and Starr County (7): Stives Industrial Park, Ringold Industrial Park, Starr Camargo I, Border Pacific I, Starr Business Park, Starr County Industrial Foundation, Starr Camargo II.
McAllen (5): Botelo Industrial Park, McAllen Nearshoring Campus, McAllen South Industrial Park, McAllen Southwest Industrial Area, Sharyland Industrial Park.
Harlingen (5): Hanmore Industrial Park, Harlingen Business Park, Harlingen Industrial Park, The Park at Roosevelt, Valley International Airport / Harlingen Aerotropolis.
Edinburg (4): North Industrial Park, Owassa Industrial Park, Renaissance Industrial Park, South Texas Airport Industrial Park.
Mission (3): Business Park at Trinity, Mission Expressway Business Park, Sharyland Business Park-Mission.
Weslaco (2): Mid-Valley Industrial Park, Mid Valley International Industrial Park.
Northern Tamaulipas (25)
Reynosa (14): American Industries Industrial Park, Centinela East Industrial Park, Centinela Rey Pharr East, Colonial Industrial Park, Complejo Industrial Roca El Puente, Del Norte Industrial Park, Finsa Maquilpark Industrial Park, Prologis Park Pharr Bridge East, Prologis Park Pharr Bridge Industrial, Reynosa Industrial Center, Reynosa Industrial Park, Reynosa Oriente Industrial Park, Stiva Reynosa Industrial Park, Villa Florida Industrial Park.
Matamoros (10): Alianza Industrial Park, Cima Industrial Park, Cylsa Industrial Park, Del Lago Industrial Park, Finsa Matamoros Del Norte Industrial Park, Finsa Oriente Industrial Park, Finsa Poniente Industrial Park, Las Ventanas Industrial Park, Los Palmares Industrial Park, Ramirez Industrial Park.
Miguel Aleman (1): Miguel Aleman Industrial Park.
What the list shows: Pharr and Reynosa, linked by the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, are the two densest clusters. The McAllen Nearshoring Campus on the list is the CiL Capital development where Valeo is building.
WHAT RIOPLEX HAS DONE SO FAR
Confirmed through published reporting:
1. Launched a new website in 2026 marketing the corridor as a North American manufacturing hub.
2. Hosted a delegation of investors from Guanajuato, Mexico, in McAllen, pitching value-added agricultural manufacturing such as canning, processing and bottling.
3. Held a foreign direct investment summit in Mexico City titled "From the Border to the World." Reyna told the Rio Grande Guardian it drew more than 170 attendees and that his team visited about 26 foreign embassies beforehand.
4. Supported UTRGV's 2026 National Manufacturing Expo, hosted by the university's Institute for Advanced Manufacturing.
5. Set up a tiered membership structure for businesses that want to join.
RioPlex's marketing pitch, as stated by Reyna, cites 14 international ports of entry, deepwater seaports, commercial airports and proximity to SpaceX's Starbase.
HOW MUCH: WHAT IS AND IS NOT PUBLIC
RioPlex's operating budget, membership dues and funding sources beyond "area businesses" were not found in any public source reviewed for this report. Because it is a private nonprofit, it is not subject to the Texas Public Information Act the way a city EDC is. Its federal Form 990 filings, if any have been filed, would be the place to check. That is an open question, not a finding of wrongdoing.
The dollar figures below belong to the companies and projects RioPlex promotes, not to RioPlex itself.
Sources:
RioPlex, About Us: https://rioplex.com/about
Rio Grande Guardian, "Reyna: Scaling up adult dropout recovery programs critical to tackling RGV poverty and fueling economic growth," Oct. 8, 2026
Rio Grande Guardian, "Reyna: Preparing Our Region's Hidden Workforce," Oct. 1, 2026
Rio Grande Guardian, "Reyna: RioPlex's trade mission to Mexico City was an outstanding success"
Rio Grande Guardian, "RioPlex Targets Foreign Investment with Guanajuato Trade Delegation and Mexico City Summit"
Rio Grande Guardian, "RioPlex launches new website"
Rio Grande Guardian, "Cuellar: The PossAble Dream High School can change the face of the Rio Grande Valley," May 28, 2026
Rio Grande Guardian, "Cardenas McNair: Addressing transportation challenges is a cornerstone of The PossAble Dream Foundation's expansion strategy"
Texas Border Business, "Prosperity Task Force Spawns Independent Rioplex Marketing Initiative"
Texas Border Business, "McAllen Lands Valeo by Moving at the Speed of Business"
Texas Public Radio, "Rio Grande Valley leaders hope to rebrand region as RioPlex to attract investment," July 2, 2024
The Brownsville Herald, "PossAble Dream Adult High School opening doors for learners in Brownsville," Sept. 29, 2026
Texas State Technical College, "TSTC, The PossAble Dream Adult High School partner to expand educational opportunities," Sept. 10, 2026
KRGV, "City of Pharr donates $1 million to launch first-of-its-kind adult high school"
Just Auto, "Valeo breaks ground on $225m manufacturing plant in US," March 25, 2026
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, project TABS2026013285, Valeo McAllen
Construction Equipment Guide, "Brownsville Port Touts First Gulf Coast Refinery in 50 Years," April 2, 2026
Hoodline, "Trump Hypes Brownsville As Ground Zero For 'Historic' $300 Billion Refinery," March 11, 2026
Valley Business Report, "City Grows With Purpose and Prosperity"
Defense News, "Saronic picks Brownsville, Texas, for $3 billion Port Alpha shipyard," July 17, 2026
Dredgewire, "Saronic breaks ground on $3 billion-plus Port Alpha shipyard in Texas," Oct. 5, 2026
Texas Education Agency, "2026 Alternative Education Accountability Registration Open," March 5, 2026
Comments