Channel 5 News was given an exclusive look at the Fronton Island Tuesday, one year after state law enforcement cleared it out as part of Operation Lone Star.

Last year, Texas officials declared Fronton Island — located in the middle of the Rio Grande near the city of Roma — state property. The Texas Department of Public Safety and the National Guard began patrolling the island, which authorities said the island was a hot spot for cartel activity, including smuggling and gun fights.

“A year later there hasn't been any activity at all on this side of the island,” DPS spokesman Lt. Chris Olivarez said. “There's still cartel shootings that are taking place on the Mexican side."

READ ABOUT THE INITIAL OPERATIONS HERE

As a legal battle over ownership of the island brews, Olivarez says they've had to make changes to the island.

In May, the International Boundary and Water Commission said the island was federal property, and that state operations had changed the floodplains.

To address the IBWC's concerns about water flow, the state knocked out one land bridge and put in drainage underneath the other to allow water from the Rio Grande to flow underneath the bridge while still providing access to the island. 

Earlier this month, Abbott sent a letter to the White House refusing to return the island to its original conditions.

Olivarez says since they've finished putting up wire along the river, they've taken troopers and soldiers off the island.

“But we are able to monitor activity on this island with cameras, and we have soldiers that are posted in certain areas where they can report any activity they see,” Olivarez said.

Watch the video above for the full story.