This week, individuals who were suspected to be armed members of a Mexican drug cartel were discovered and apprehended on the Texas side of the Southern Border. On Thursday, the Texas Department of Public Safety, National Guard, and Border Patrol collaborated to arrest five individuals in Fronton, Texas, who were believed to be associated with the Cartel Del Noreste, as reported by Fox News. It is concerning to note that among the detained individuals were some minors. Law enforcement authorities revealed that two men were carrying rifles, and several others were observed wearing tactical gear.
Reports indicate that cartels have extended their influence beyond the borders of Texas.
“We have a lot of cartel activity in Mexican cartel activity in the state of Idaho, especially Boise. So we have a lot of Hispanic gangs, a lot of activity, who deal the narcotics for the cartels, outlaw motorcycle gangs, who deal with drugs to the cartels, and that violence associated. So really, we’re all in the same fight is what it is,” Sheriff Kieran Donahue of Canyon County, Idaho, stated.
NEW: Per fed & TX law enforcement sources, multiple times this week, suspected members of the Northeast Cartel, armed w/ rifles, crossed into the US in the Fronton, TX area in the RGV. 5 arrested yesterday via Border Patrol, @TxDPS, & @TXMilitary. Others seen on cam.
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 2, 2023
Pics: TX DPS pic.twitter.com/DELUXIjYTO
Donahue stated that the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion have established significant presence in Idaho. This revelation does not come as a surprise to Richard Sanchez, a DEA special agent in charge stationed in the Rio Grande Valley.
He stated, “The Sinaloa Cartel has tentacles reach globally, they are in every state in the United States. They’re in 47 countries around the world we have identified, so their tentacles are strong, they are violent, and they use every means possible to ensure that they are able to make as much money as they can.”
Sheriff Sam Page of Rockingham County, North Carolina, reported that he encounters the presence of stash houses and criminal activities associated with cartels.
“What I’ve come to found over the past 13 years that what comes to the border doesn’t stay there. It comes to communities all across America. It’s come to fruition, that if we fail to secure our borders, every sheriff in America will become a border sheriff. Sheriffs across the country are experiencing issues that started at the border, and then continue to move through the country and come into our communities.”
According to reports, there are various locations in California where illicit marijuana farms, financed by cartels, are being operated on public lands.
