Former President Donald Trump said during an interview this week that airstrikes against Mexican drug cartels are &#8220;absolutely&#8221; on the table if Mexico does not rapidly put an end to the fentanyl pouring into the U.S.
Trump made the remarks during an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters broadcast on Tuesday after being asked if he would still follow through on the idea pushed by Republicans during the presidential primaries.
&#8220;Absolutely,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;Mexico is going to have to straighten it out really fast or the answer is, absolutely. They&#8217;re killing 300,000 people a year with fentanyl coming in.&#8221;
The former president highlighted China&#8217;s role in the fentanyl epidemic, saying that all of the precursors to make the drug come to Mexico directly from Chinese manufacturers.
&#8220;And China, by the way, will do what they have to do,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They&#8217;re gonna do it just like I had to deal with President Xi. But then Biden never took it over, that we&#8217;re gonna give the death penalty to anybody sending fentanyl our way. And that was part of my negotiation. They never did it because nobody forced it on our side.&#8221;
&#8220;Death penalty for drug dealers, death penalty for people that send fentanyl into our country,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;And that would have made a big difference. But you know what happened? Nothing because when Biden came in, nothing happened. And I don&#8217;t know why he&#8217;s so soft on China, but boy is soft on China.&#8221;
He added that Mexico will be given &#8220;a very short period of time&#8221; to control the situation, or they will face consequences from the U.S.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
WATTERS: Are strikes against the cartels still on the table?
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Absolutely. <a href="https://t.co/3rywIej7FC">pic.twitter.com/3rywIej7FC</a>
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1815910972697240022?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 24, 2024</a></blockquote>

Donald Trump And J.D. Vance Hold First Joint Campaign Rally After The RNC

Trump: Military Strikes Against The Mexican Drug Cartels ‘Absolutely’ On The Table

Cartels

Donald Trump

Drug Cartels

Elections

Fox News

Jesse Watters

Mexico

Politics

Border Patrol agents in California made two arrests and seized 25 AK-47 style rifles that were suspected to be in transit to criminal entities in Mexico.
The seizure of the firearms, which is thought to be the largest in the history of the Yuma Border Patrol Sector, resulted in the arrests of Jose Palma Almendariz, a United States citizen, and his 17-year-old brother, both of whom now face federal charges. The arrests were made in Blythe, California on the border of Arizona about 100 miles from the Mexican border.
“Transnational Criminal Organizations traffic weapons to fuel their illicit activity on both sides of the border,” Yuma Sector Border Patrol Chief Sean McGoffin <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/border/2024/06/16/border-patrol-in-california-seizes-25-ak-style-rifles-destined-for-mexican-cartel/">explained</a> when discussing the incident. “This weapons seizure clearly demonstrates the importance of our Border Security mission and commitment of keeping our communities safe.”
The duo was stopped by Border Patrol agents who were then assisted by law enforcement officers in the Coachella Valley Violent Crime Gang Task Force. Law enforcement officials <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/us-border-patrol-yuma-sector-agents-seize-illegal-weapons">found</a> the 25 rifles, 25 30-round magazines, and two pistols. Authorities interviewed the two suspects and now believe that the weapons were picked up in Phoenix, Arizona, and would have been taken to Mexico if the duo had not been arrested.
Jose Palma Almendariz is now being held in the Blythe Jail, though his brother, a juvenile, remains free while the case continues.
The arrests come as cartel conflict persists about a hundred miles south in the Mexican state of Sonora, which has seen violence between those associated with the Sinaloa Cartel and the Juarez Cartel. Search parties in the area <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/border/2024/06/12/mexican-search-parties-find-numerous-bodies-in-clandestine-graves-near-arizona-border/">recently discovered</a> the remains of 20 bodies, some of which were dismembered or partially incinerated, which provides a testament to the persistent conflict between the cartels.
While those arrested in this incident may have been trafficking weapons to criminal organizations in Mexico, elected officials have warned that international criminal organizations are gaining a foothold in the United States due to the porous southern border. Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-TX) warned of Tren de Aragua, a ruthless Venezuelan prison gang, which he says is becoming more powerful within the United States. “This gang in several years is going to be the dominant transnational criminal organization throughout the United States. There’s no doubt in my mind,” Rep. Gonzalez <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/congressman-from-texas-warns-that-venezuelan-gang-is-consolidating-power-in-america-amid-open-border">warned</a>, also explaining that “they gobble up territory like a cancer.”

Untitled design-132

Border Patrol Makes Two Arrests, Seizes 25 Rifles Suspected To Be In Transit To Mexico

Crime

China is the main driver behind fentanyl being smuggled into the United States by Mexican drug cartels, according to investigative journalist and author Peter Schweizer.
Schweizer, author of “Blood Money: Why the Powerful Turn a Blind Eye While China Kills Americans,” discussed the crisis on “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/fentanyl-america-s-silent-epidemic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fentanyl: America’s Silent Epidemic</a>,” part of a DailyWire+ series by Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro on The Divided States of Biden. The author said the fentanyl trade that contributes to tens of thousands of American deaths every year begins in China. 
“They’re the senior partner. The drug cartels are really the junior partner in the fentanyl trade,” Schweizer told Shapiro, speaking of the Chinese regime led by President Xi Jinping.
Ninety percent of fentanyl precursor chemicals shipped from China to Mexico arrive via Mexico’s Port of Manzanillo. The port is run by a Chinese company, according to Schweizer. From the port, the chemicals are taken to a town in northern Mexico close to the U.S. border. About 2,000 Chinese workers work in cartel labs to craft the precursor chemicals into fentanyl and then the fentanyl into pills resembling common drugs such as Vicodin or Adderall.
“Now the drug cartels want to distribute their product in the United States. What do they do? They use Chinese apps. They use Chinese communications devices because they know that China will not share that information with U.S. law enforcement,” Schweizer said.
Money from the drug trade is then laundered through the Chinese financial system.
“The Mexican drug cartels now launder their money in Chinese state-owned banks, and, according to our government, they use Chinese students in the United States on education visas to do this,” Schweizer said.
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China will continue to fuel the fentanyl trade in the United States until U.S. political leadership decides to make China feel real consequences from participating in it, according to Schweizer.
“We need to start looking at punitive actions we can take to damage them. I’m generally a free trade guy, but do you want to have free trade with somebody who is poisoning your citizens in such a systematic way? I don’t think so,” he said. “We’ve got to get tough and we’ve got to make clear: you are going to suffer consequences and real damage until you stop doing this to our people.”

Fentanyl

China Is The ‘Senior Partner’ Directing The Fentanyl Crisis Killing Americans, Author Peter Schweizer Says

China

Communist China

DailyWire+

Peter Schweizer

United States

World

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, or AMLO, claimed during an interview that aired on Sunday that he has ended corruption in Mexico and that the hundreds of political assassinations that are carried out every year in his country are not a threat to democracy.
AMLO made the claims during a &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; interview about the crisis on the U.S. southern border and about the Mexican drug cartels.
The left-wing news program noted that AMLO takes a &#8220;bare knuckle brawls with the press&#8221; which it said was in &#8220;sharp contrast to the softer approach he&#8217;s taken with the drug cartels.&#8221;
AMLO claimed that his &#8220;hugs not bullets&#8221; method for dealing with the cartels has worked out &#8220;very well,&#8221; even though violence remains high and the cartels have grown in size.
When asked about the more than 30,000 murders that happen in Mexico every year, AMLO claimed that the Mexican government prosecuted &#8220;all&#8221; of the cases, even though only around 5% are actually prosecuted.
AMLO deflected blame for the role his country has played in the fentanyl crisis in the United States since nearly all of the illicit fentanyl that ends up killing Americans is manufactured by cartels in Mexico.
&#8220;Fentanyl is produced in the United States, in Canada, and in Mexico,&#8221; he claimed, ignoring the fact that the illicit fentanyl used in street drugs comes from his country. &#8220;And the chemical precursors come from Asia. You know why we don&#8217;t have the drug consumption that you have in the United States? Because we have customs, traditions, and we don&#8217;t have the problem of the disintegration of the family.&#8221;
He also falsely claimed that drug consumption in Mexico was not a problem.
When asked if he has &#8220;completely&#8221; eliminated &#8220;corruption&#8221; in Mexico, AMLO claimed: &#8220;Yes, basically, because corruption in Mexico started from the top down.&#8221;
&#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; noted that independent organizations have found there has been &#8220;no improvement in the corruption problems that have plagued Mexico for decades&#8221; under AMLO.
When asked about the 355 government officials and political candidates who were murdered last year in his country, he downplayed the matter, saying there were only &#8220;some specific instances.&#8221;
He said that the assassinations posed no threat to democracy.
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador: The 60 Minutes Interview" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/04WBPile_lA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

President Lopez Obrador Meets Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

AMLO Claims He Ended Corruption In Mexico, Not Worried About Hundreds Of Political Assassinations

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

Corruption

Democracy

Border Patrol officials told lawmakers that smugglers charge illegal immigrants from China up to $60,000 to unlawfully enter the United States, according to a <a href="https://justthenews.com/sites/default/files/2024-01/Joint-CPA-Transcribed-Interviews-Report-01-16-2024-FINAL-pdf.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> released on Tuesday from Republicans on the House Committee on Homeland Security. 
Border Patrol chiefs told the committee earlier this year that transnational criminal organizations effectively controlled the U.S. southern border, charging thousands of dollars to people looking to sneak into America. The cost of entry into the U.S. increased depending on how far away you were coming from and where you were entering, they said. 
The average cost was estimated to be around $8,600, but could be around $60,000 if you were coming from China. A record number of Chinese nationals have been encountered by Border Patrol in the last year. 
Human smuggling and trafficking have proven to be an incredibly lucrative business for the cartels as a record number of illegal migrants have surged to the border under President Joe Biden. 
Chief of U.S. Border Patrol Jasen Owens estimated during his time as the Del Rio sector chief that transnational criminal organizations were making more than $30 million weekly on human trafficking and smuggling operations in that part of Texas. 
Aaron Heitke, the Chief Patrol Agent for the San Diego sector, said that “it costs more to go through an area that has a better chance of getting away.” 
Many women are raped during the process as well, with Heitke saying that some of the women see it as part of the payment to get through. 
The cartels exert heavy control over the southern border area, reportedly beating migrants who attempt to illegally enter the United States without paying them. Laredo Chief Patrol Agent Joel Martinez said that his team found two bodies washed up on shore, one of whom was shot between the eyes and the other whose head was half shot off. He said they suspect these were people who tried to cross without the cartel’s permission. 
During their interviews with the committee, the Border Patrol agents said that one way to deter illegal immigration would be to detain everyone instead of releasing thousands into the country with court dates set years in the future. 
“I think optimally, other than the rare occasion where you have someone with a crazy medical condition, everyone should be detained. And that, to me, is the most obvious way to not encourage illegal immigration, is everyone’s held until they have a hearing,” said Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent John Modlin. 
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El Centro Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino said that border walls helped as well. “In many of those areas now, where there is border wall, we see very little vehicular incursions across the desert between ports of entry, and a decrease in pedestrian crossings at the border, especially where the 33-foot wall exists,” he said. 
Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/delusional-biden-says-southern-border-is-not-in-crisis-as-illegal-crossings-surge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has denied</a> that there is a crisis at the border even as Border Patrol reportedly recorded more than 300,000 illegal immigrant encounters at the southern border in December, a new <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/us-mexico-border-crossings-all-time-high-immigration-news/14261305/#:~:text=Migrant%20encounters%20reach%20all%2Dtime%20high%20along%20southwest%20border%20with,is%20threatening%20to%20sue%20Texas.&amp;text=ABCNews-,There%20were%20302%2C000%20encounters%20along%20the%20southwest%20border%20in%20December,recorded%2C%20sources%20told%20ABC%20News.">record</a>.

TOPSHOT-MEXICO-US-MIGRATION-CARAVAN

Border Officials Reveal Steep Fees Illegal Immigrants Pay To Cartels To Enter U.S.

Border Crisis

Border Patrol

Human Trafficking

Illegal Immigration

Immigration

Joe Biden

Smuggling

Southern Border

U.S.

U.S. Border Patrol officials <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/08/21/arizona-borders-open-floodgates-allow-thousands-into-us/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=nypost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> opened more than 100 floodgates in the southern border wall due to the annual monsoon season in Arizona, but the move allowed more illegal immigrants to flow freely into the U.S.
The federal law enforcement agency took responsibility for the open border wall doors in a <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/08/22/border-patrol-admits-its-responsible-for-open-floodgates-in-arizona-border-wall/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> to the New York Post after the outlet published exclusive images showing busloads of migrants causally walking through the floodgates. They were reportedly first opened nearly two months ago.
&#8220;USBP makes the final decision on opening gates based on operational conditions and forecasted weather,&#8221; the agency said.
Border Patrol sources told the outlet that various federal agencies, including the National Park Service, ordered the agency to open 114 floodgates along the Arizona border to allow the monsoon waters to flow easily while endangered antelope species migrate in the region. However, some federal agents said the gates should have remained closed to reduce illegal immigrant crossings.
&#8220;We tried to shut the gates, but the order came down that we had to leave them open,&#8221; one of the sources reportedly said. &#8220;You wouldn&#8217;t leave the front door of your house open in a bad neighborhood.&#8221;
Border agents shut the floodgates at the border wall but open them during monsoon seasons to maintain the structure&#8217;s condition. The department reportedly claimed the high water flow mixed with excess sediment and debris buildup could compromise its integrity.
However, the open pathway allowed approximately 1,400 migrants from China, Egypt, and other parts of the world to enter the U.S. daily over the last nearly two months.
Roughly 42,000 migrants crossed the U.S. last month through the point of entry in Tuscon, Arizona, showing a massive increase of 27,294 migrants crossing in June, according to recent data reported by Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
&#8220;We haven&#8217;t seen this many migrants since about 2008,&#8221; Adam Isacson, director for defense oversight at the advocacy group Washington Office on Latin America, told The Post. &#8220;With the end of Title 42, in a way that nobody oversaw, it seems to come back to Tucson.&#8221;
After the Biden administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-blocks-biden-administration-border-policy-limiting-access-to-illegal-immigrants-seeking-asylum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ended</a> Title 42, a Trump-era public health order that allowed for the immediate expulsion of illegal immigrants due to the pandemic, border agents recorded another nearly 145,000 migrant encounters in June — a sharp decrease from about 208,000 in June 2022.
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Large groups of migrants willingly surrender themselves to Border Patrol agents to claim asylum, Isacson said.
&#8220;Tucson has also traditionally been where smugglers concentrate Mexicans and Central Americans who don&#8217;t want to be detected,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Now they&#8217;re seeing 100 people at a time who are not running away.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s really becoming an epicenter,&#8221; he added. &#8220;This is big.&#8221;
Brandon Judd, the president a union representing Border Patrol agents, told The Post that authorities should never open the gates, claiming top USBP officials endangered agents&#8217; lives after clearing the path for illegal immigrants to cross.
Judd previously said that open gates at the southern border signal the cartels are &#8220;exploiting&#8221; the agency.
In this case, however, the union official said the situation &#8220;exploded almost immediately, which shows you how adept the criminal cartels are at exploiting any weakness at any time that we show them.&#8221;
&#8220;Those gates should never open up. What would be the reason for it? Why would you do it?&#8221;

Gates in the border wall for flooding.

Open Floodgates At Southern Border Wall Allows Thousands Of Migrants To Freely Flow Into U.S.: Report

Arizona

Border Wall

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Illegal Chinese <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/marijuana" target="_blank" rel="noopener">marijuana</a> grow operations are cropping throughout rural <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/maine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maine</a>, according to a leaked memo from Border Patrol. 
Federal officials believe that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a> is profiting off the illegal operations, which are located throughout the U.S., especially in rural areas, according to <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2023/08/16/exclusive-illegal-chinese-marijuana-grow-operations-taking-over-blue-state-leaked-memo-says/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a report</a> from the Daily Caller News Foundation. The July memo obtained by the DCNF showed that Border Patrol has identified “270 properties within the state that are actively used by the Chinese” in relation to their illegal marijuana operations. 
According to the memo, a single property could make more than $16 million in profit each year, which “likely” is “used for other criminal activities or are sent to China.” The total profits could be more than $4 billion. 
A federal law enforcement source told the DCNF that those running the illegal operations are typically Chinese nationals who are difficult to deport due to asylum claims or are residents. 
“Based on location of the properties, it is assessed that I-95 is the main transport route for bulk cash, illegal narcotics, illegal aliens as this is the most desirable route throughout the state of Maine. I-95 begins in Miami, Florida, and ends near New Brunswick. This route enables smugglers through the many connecting routes which may allow access to many adjoining states,” the memo said. 
The problem is not limited to Maine and appears to have been going on for years. A 2017 <a href="https://www.pressherald.com/2017/10/24/officials-probe-chinese-influence-in-illegal-pot-operations/">report</a> from the Portland Press Herald noted that Chinese nationals running illegal marijuana grows had been arrested in states like California and Colorado. Some arrested were illegally in the U.S., but others came on B-1 or B-2 visas. 
“There’s no deterrence,” Derek Maltz, the head of the DEA’s Special Operations Division from 2005-2014, told the DCNF. “Criminals are masters at taking advantage of the vulnerabilities.”
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Maltz says that the Chinese nationals will frequently work with Mexican drug cartels.
“They take the cash from the cartels in America, and they buy these properties and they do these investments with cash from the Mexican cartels in our own country. This is part of their laundering scheme,” he said. 
The recreational sale of marijuana has been legal in Maine since 2020, which followed the legalization of the drug by the voters in 2016.
It is also <a href="https://www.capito.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Fentanyl%20Sanctions%20Act%20One%20Page%20Summary.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimated</a> that China is the origin of up to 90% of the illicit fentanyl found in the U.S.

Illegal Cannabis Factory Green house, A close up of the marijuana farm industry.

Illegal Chinese Marijuana Grow Operations Worth Billions Cropping Up In Maine: Border Patrol Memo

Maine

Marijuana

During a hearing on Wednesday, one Republican lawmaker confronted a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration">Biden administration</a> Cabinet secretary with a jar filled with colorful contents.
It was not full of &#8220;candies or snacks,&#8221; as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/health-and-human-services">Health and Human Services</a> (HHS) Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/xavier-becerra">Xavier Becerra</a> had guessed. Rather, as Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kat-cammack">Kat Cammack</a> (R-FL) explained while holding the jar, what it contained represented a far more &#8220;grim&#8221; reality.
&#8220;These are wristbands that the cartels force people to wear when they cross the border, and if you&#8217;re not wearing one and you cross the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/border-crisis">border</a>, the cartels will take a limb or an appendage,&#8221; Cammack said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Rep. Cammack: Do you see this jar? 
Sec. Becerra: It looks like candies or snacks. 
Rep. Cammack: These are wristbands the cartels force people to wear when they cross the border. If you&#39;re not wearing one when you cross, the cartels will take a limb, like an arm or leg. <a href="https://t.co/QSB5dFyAf7">pic.twitter.com/QSB5dFyAf7</a>
&mdash; Rep. Cammack Press Office (@RepKatCammack) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepKatCammack/status/1684241692474454041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;This is what these people are forced to wear and it dictates what cartel they belong to, how much they have paid and they are absolutely a part of the horrors of trafficking and smuggling that occurs at our Southwest border,&#8221; Cammack added. &#8220;And I have to point this out because I want to tell the journey because this has really been laid out in bits and pieces along the way by my colleagues and we&#8217;re here to talk about these kids.&#8221;
The jar moment went viral on social media, with comments from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and others.
&#8220;Astonishing — but not at all a surprise,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/SenTedCruz/status/1684261974647926784">Cruz said on the X platform</a>. &#8220;Earlier this year during a Senate Judiciary hearing, DHS Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas denied knowing about the cartel wristbands found at the border. This is the latest example of the Biden administration turning a blind eye to the human trafficking crisis taking place at our southern border.&#8221;
<a href="https://d1dth6e84htgma.cloudfront.net/07_26_23_Becerra_Testimony_E_and_C_Oversight_Hearing_c76ba8ed58.pdf">In his testimony</a> for a House subcommittee <a href="https://energycommerce.house.gov/events/oversight-and-investigations-subcommittee-hearing-stopping-the-exploitation-of-migrant-children-oversight-of-hhs-office-of-refugee-resettlement">hearing</a> on “Stopping the Exploitation of Migrant Children: Oversight of HHS&#8217; Office of Refugee Resettlement,&#8221; Becerra talked about what happens when young people who are transferred to <a href="https://www.acf.hhs.gov/orr/programs/uc">HHS care</a> from the Department of Homeland Security or any other federal entity are then released to a sponsor. Becerra stressed that the sponsors of unaccompanied minors are &#8220;thoroughly vetted,&#8221; but conceded the children &#8220;may find themselves in unsafe situations.&#8221;
Challenging the secretary to define what &#8220;thoroughly vetted&#8221; means, Cammack shared the story of a young migrant girl she encountered who was &#8220;terrified&#8221; of the man holding her, as seen in a photo the congresswoman showed. That man, Cammack said, later confessed under threat of a DNA test to &#8220;renting&#8221; the child in a process called &#8220;recycling&#8221; and turned out to be a convicted sex offender.
Cammack said many migrant children end up having the same phone number written on their arm in sharpie and dozens of them &#8220;magically&#8221; end up with the same sponsor. HHS releases these children, she added, to sponsors who are in the country illegally.
When given a chance to respond, Becerra pushed back, saying the congresswoman shared &#8220;misinformation&#8221; and insisted that officials run a &#8220;series of tests and assessments of a child when we get them.&#8221;
To Cammack, the secretary&#8217;s response appeared to be insufficient as she figures such as DNA tests only being conducted in 9% of cases and background checks in 23% of cases. &#8220;I think this is disgusting that 85,000 children are missing, and it&#8217;s on your watch,&#8221; she added as her time to speak expired.

Rep. Kat Cammack

GOP Lawmaker Confronts Biden Official With Jar Of Wristbands Showing ‘Grim’ Reality At Border

GOP Lawmaker Confronts Biden Official With Jar Of Wristbands Showing 'Grim' Reality At Border

Congress

Kat Cammack

Migrants

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/southern-border" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cartel human smuggling business</a> is booming under President Joe Biden&#8217;s watch. Don&#8217;t take my word for it; listen to his Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy, Blas Nunez-Neto.
On Tuesday, Breitbart <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2023/07/25/dhs-deputy-bidens-catch-and-release-grows-cartels-wealth-and-reach/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Nunez-Neto recently said, &#8220;We see migrants now routinely paying smuggling organizations vast sums of money — often more than $10,000 to $15,000 — to facilitate their journey to the border.&#8221;
Nunez-Neto added that those payments are now often winding up in the hands of the cartels.
&#8220;This is so lucrative, in fact, that we are now seeing the drug cartels increasingly becoming a key player in not just collecting taxes for people who transit through their territory — which is what we saw historically — but actually moving people and becoming deeply involved in human smuggling, not just in Mexico, but throughout the region,&#8221; he said.
The senior official&#8217;s comments came during an interview with the Migration Policy Insitute.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Straining under the Backlog: Fixing a U.S. Immigration Court System in Crisis" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sA1fuW96GNo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Nunez-Neto went on to state that the Biden administration&#8217;s catch-and-release policy, as well as its asylum rules, make the smuggling more profitable. Cartels and other actors can practically guarantee that not only will their so-called clients be allowed to cross into the U.S., but they&#8217;ll soon be able to work in America as well.
Not only is the Biden administration attracting more illegal aliens, but the immigration court backlog is creating a compounding problem, he explained.
&#8220;I think we are seeing the court system essentially become a proxy legal pathway for people to come into the United States and work while they’re here … and it’s leading to these huge backlogs that we are seeing in the courts as well,&#8221; the official said.
Thus far, Biden&#8217;s solutions to this problem have included a new “parole” system that allows migrants who would have otherwise been likely to cross the border illegally to enter the country. Under the new system, individuals seeking to enter the country fill out a smartphone app that serves as their asylum paperwork, without the need for a visa.
The Biden administration will accept more than half a million asylum seekers per year, a recent report said. During the last two years, the administration <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-parole-migrants-us-expansion-biden/#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has already allowed</a> at least 541,000 migrants into the country through the parole authority, Daily Wire reporter Mairead Elordi reported last week.
To that extent, Nunez-Neto also said, &#8220;I think in general, our approach has been that we would like to see individuals using safe and orderly pathways and processes to come into the country. &#8230; We think there’s a significant public benefit associated with channeling people into these lawful processes&#8230;&#8221;
Yet, as this author has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-best-way-to-get-order-at-the-border-is-to-close-it-once-and-for-all" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously observed</a>, the problem is that the Left’s definition of “order” simply means that illegal aliens are “processed” by immigration officials and then released into the country via new “legal” measures — such as the smartphone app.
“Order” to the Democrats does not mean having the necessary physical barriers or manpower necessary at the U.S.-Mexico border to deter entry. Nor does it include enforcing policies that effectively prevent illegal immigrants from entering the nation in the first place.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Migrants wearing “Biden Please Let Us In” tee shirts.

Senior DHS Official: Cartel Smuggling Business Booming Under Biden

Department of Homeland Security

Ohio Republican Senator J.D. Vance said Sunday he would “empower” the president to use military force to combat Mexican drug cartels as he warned about the increasing power of the criminal groups. 
During an <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/presidents-should-use-full-power-of-u-s-military-to-go-after-cartels-full-sen-j-d-vance-186528837990" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appearance</a> on NBC News’s “Meet The Press” Sunday, Vance told host Chuck Todd that “real American leadership” is needed to combat the fentanyl crisis that’s originating outside American borders. Vance said the growing influence of drug cartels is concerning and that the U.S. must take action. 
“I want to empower the president of the United States, whether that’s a Democrat or Republican, to use the power of the U.S. military to go after these drug cartels,” Vance said. “Here’s the real problem with Mexico, and it’s sort of two-fold: On the one hand, you have the cartels which are arguably the best-funded criminal terrorist organization in the entire world.”
“The second thing, Chuck, is we have to recognize the Mexican government is being in a lot of ways destabilized by the constant flow of fentanyl,” Vance added. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
WATCH: Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance (R) would “empower” a president to use the U.S. military to go after drug cartels.
@JDVance1: “You think the fentanyl problem is bad now, what about three years from now when the Mexican drug cartels are more powerful than the Mexican state itself?” <a href="https://t.co/rhDWzhJIZ1">pic.twitter.com/rhDWzhJIZ1</a>
&mdash; Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) <a href="https://twitter.com/MeetThePress/status/1675470737153335297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Vance told Todd that three years from now, the drug cartels could be more powerful than the Mexican state itself, comparing the situation to what happened in Colombia when the cartels became too dominant. He said he has spoken with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents who have told him that drug cartels’ revenue has increased “fourteen-fold” in the last couple of years, saying that’s a result of “bad border policies.” 
The Ohio senator conceded the U.S. would be “hamstrung” if leaders assume “good faith” from China and Mexico — the two primary sources of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances entering the U.S., <a href="https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/DEA_GOV_DIR-008-20%20Fentanyl%20Flow%20in%20the%20United%20States_0.pdf">according</a> to the DEA — but said real progress is achievable. As for China, Vance said the United States must begin to exert economic pressure on the communist nation. 
“The Chinese export a ton to the American markets, they absolutely need the American consumer to be able to run their businesses,” Vance said. “We should be willing to say that if you don’t stop sending fentanyl precursors to Mexico and to our own ports of entry, we’re going to really penalize you guys economically.” 
Vance said the Biden administration should exert economic pressure through increasing tariffs to “extract a massive economic cost.”
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Accidental overdose deaths in Ohio have increased by 1,056% since 1999, from 467 to 5,397 in 2021, according to data from the CDC reported by the &#8220;Meet The Press.&#8221; Eighty percent of those deaths involved opioids, making Ohio fifth in the nation for overdose deaths. From 2019 to 2020, overdose deaths in the U.S. increased by 31%. Fentanyl is behind the majority of overdose deaths, with roughly 150 people dying every day, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/sen-jd-vance-endorses-us-military-going-drug-cartels-mexico-rcna91902" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a>. 
According to the <a href="https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2023/05/05/dea-operation-last-mile-tracks-down-sinaloa-and-jalisco-cartel-associates#:~:text=DEA's%20top%20operational%20priority%20is,methamphetamine%20that%20is%20killing%20Americans." target="_blank" rel="noopener">DEA</a>, the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels are the two primary groups responsible for fentanyl and methamphetamine overdose deaths of Americans. In an early May <a href="https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2023/05/05/dea-operation-last-mile-tracks-down-sinaloa-and-jalisco-cartel-associates#:~:text=DEA's%20top%20operational%20priority%20is,methamphetamine%20that%20is%20killing%20Americans." target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>, the federal organization said its “top operational priority” is to defeat the two groups. 
Many Republicans have argued that using military force to defeat the cartels is imperative. Former President Donald Trump has <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/02/vance-brown-fentanyl-china-00104530" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mentioned</a> using “special forces” and “cyber warfare” to combat the leaders of the groups, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/ron-desantis-vows-send-military-block-drugs-reaching-mexican-ports-rcna91121" target="_blank" rel="noopener">endorsed</a> the use of “deadly force” against drug traffickers.

J.D. Vance

J.D. Vance Wants To ‘Empower’ POTUS To Use Military To ‘Go After’ Mexican Drug Cartels

J.D. Vance Wants To 'Empower' POTUS To Use Military To 'Go After' Mexican Drug Cartels

JD Vance

Within the last week, four U.S. citizens were allegedly assaulted and abducted in Mexico by the syndicate and drug trafficking organization Gulf Cartel.
Their abductions quickly launched a rescue operation from Mexican authorities — who ultimately discovered that two of the victims had been killed after the group crossed the southern border.
Soon after the group of friends — Latavia McGee, Eric Williams, Zindell Brown, and Shaeed Woodard — from South Carolina arrived in the city of Matamoros in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas on March 3, the four individuals were caught in a shootout between rival cartel gangs and forced into the back of a pickup truck at gunpoint.
Following the kidnapping, Tamaulipas officials said that cartel members moved the victims throughout the state to confuse and avoid efforts from authorities to rescue the Americans.
By Tuesday morning, authorities had discovered McGee and Williams in a small wooden house about six miles from the crime scene — in a place called La Lagunona in the town of El Tecolote. Williams survived with non-threatening gunshot wounds to his legs, while McGee remained unharmed.
Brown and Woodard did not survive.
Authorities transported the survivors just north of the U.S.-Mexico border near Brownsville, Texas, to receive medical treatment while the deceased were taken to a morgue in Matamoros for a forensic examination. Authorities transported the bodies back to the U.S. on Wednesday, The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11836293/Two-American-men-kidnapped-Mexico-lengthy-rap-sheet.html">reported</a>.
Relatives of the kidnapped reportedly said the four friends and one other friend had traveled to Mexico for McGee to undergo medical treatment to remove abdominal fat. Upon reaching the border, authorities denied the fifth member of the group, Cheryl Orange, entry into Mexico due to insufficient identification documents.
Orange allegedly wrote in a letter that she &#8220;would not be surprised if her friends got arrested because they are known to party and use narcotics,&#8221; according to <a href="https://twitter.com/VenturaReport/status/1633844979842809856">NewsNation</a>.
According to the <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/mexico-travel-advisory.html#Tamaulipas%20state">U.S. Department of State</a>, the city of Matamoros in Tamaulipas is under a &#8220;Do Not Travel&#8221; advisory, citing organized crime activity, including shootings, robberies, and kidnappings.
&#8220;Criminal groups target public and private passenger buses, as well as private automobiles traveling through Tamaulipas, often taking passengers and demanding ransom payments,&#8221; the warning reads.
Those close to the four individuals involved in the deadly abduction said the friends grew up together in South Carolina. According to an extensive report from The Daily Mail, all four involved in the Mexico kidnapping have a lengthy criminal history, which involved crimes ranging from drug possession and distribution to burglary and domestic violence to unlawful conduct towards a child.
Woodard, 33, worked at a hotel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and helped raise his extended family members, according to People.
&#8220;Shaeed was one of the good guys: gentle, humble, and sweet,&#8221; Sonya Singletary, niece, told <a href="https://people.com/crime/americans-kidnapped-killed-in-mexico-what-to-know/">People</a>. &#8220;He was willing to help anybody and give you the shirt off his back, always smiling and positive.&#8221;
Brown lived in Myrtle Beach and has been described by family members as &#8220;a loving son, brother, uncle, and friend.&#8221;
&#8220;Zindell kept saying, &#8216;We shouldn&#8217;t go down,'&#8221; Zalandria Brown, sister, told <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-americans-kidnapped-gulf-drug-cartel-2700637729e8f3a5065005231aa8d4d3">The Associated Press</a>. &#8220;This is like a bad dream you wish you could wake up from.&#8221;
McGee, 35, a mother of six from Myrtle Beach and cousin to Woodard, allegedly went to Mexico to receive the medical procedure for the second time in the last three years, according to her mother, Burgess.
&#8220;She was crying. I asked her how she was doing. She doing okay,&#8221; Burgess told ABC News affiliate <a href="https://wpde.com/news/local/myrtle-beach-woman-kidnapped-mexico-alive-hospital-matamoros-mexican-border-city-gulf-drug-cartel-tummy-tuck-doctor-surviving-us-citizens-latavia-mcgee-shaeed-woodard-eric-williams-zindell-brown#">WPDE</a>. &#8220;She was crying because her brother [cousin Shaeed Woodard] got killed, and she watched him die. She watched two of them die. They died in front of her.&#8221;
Williams, 38, lives in Winston-Salem, N.C., with his wife, Michele, and their child.
Williams&#8217; cousin, Jerry Wallace, told <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/03/08/mexico-kidnapping-survivor-saw-friends-killed-in-front-of-him/?utm_source=sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=news_alert&amp;utm_content=20230308?&amp;utm_source=sailthru&amp;lctg=6079ac26703029470392500d&amp;utm_term=NYP%20-%20News%20Alerts">The New York Post</a> on Wednesday that he&#8217;s now out of surgery and is &#8220;talking strong and everything.
&#8220;He [is] doing better than what he was,&#8221; Wallace said.
Mexican authorities arrested a suspect Tuesday allegedly tied to the fatal abduction.
Jose Guadalupe N., a Mexican National in his early 20s, was guarding the small wooden house outside Matamoros where cartel members held the Americans when authorities detained him. Authorities have not confirmed if Guadalupe is involved with the cartel suspected of kidnapping the U.S. nationals.
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According to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mexico-missing-americans-cartel-e35e8c6fcda926e5c2fb8f896aa91f4e">The Associated Press</a>, an unidentified person claiming to be a part of the Gulf Cartel responsible for the fatal abduction &#8220;condemned the violence and purportedly turned over its own members who were involved to authorities.&#8221; The letter also includes an apology to the residents of Matamoros, the Mexican woman who died in the shooting, and the four Americans and their families.
&#8220;We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline,&#8221; the letter reads, adding that those individuals had gone against the cartel&#8217;s rules, which include &#8220;respecting the life and well-being of the innocent.&#8221;
<a href="https://twitter.com/VenturaReport/status/1633876991387787264">NewsNation</a> reported that Mexico authorities handcuffed five men turned over by the Gulf Cartel, claiming they were responsible for the deaths of Woodard and Brown and another unidentified person.
Mexican authorities are still searching for a motive for the kidnapping, with one possible theory that the American nationals were confused with Haitian drug smugglers.

Two of the Four American Citizens Kidnapped in Northeastern Mexico Are Found Dead

Here’s What We Know About The Situation Involving Four Americans Kidnapped In Mexico

Here's What We Know About The Situation Involving Four Americans Kidnapped In Mexico

Department of Justice

Mexican authorities arrested a suspect Tuesday allegedly tied to the kidnapping of four Americans last weekend, leaving two dead after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Jose Guadalupe N., a Mexican national in his early 20&#8217;s, was guarding a small wooden house outside the city of Matamoros where cartel members held the Americans when authorities detained him, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-03-07/2-kidnapped-americans-found-dead-mexico-2-others-alive">The Los Angeles Times</a> reported.
Authorities have not confirmed if Guadalupe is involved with the cartel suspected of kidnapping the U.S. nationals Latavia &#8220;Tay&#8221; McGee, Eric James Williams, Shaeed Woodard, and Zindell Brown.
According to officials in Mexico&#8217;s Tamaulipas state, when Mexican authorities discovered the victims kidnapped by the gunmen, Woodard and Brown had been killed.
The announcement was shared on social media, noting that investigations and efforts to capture those responsible are ongoing.
<a href="https://nypost.com/2023/03/07/jose-guadalupe-arrested-for-cartel-kidnapping-of-us-citizens/?utm_medium=SocialFlow&amp;utm_source=NYPTwitter&amp;utm_campaign=SocialFlow">The New York Pos</a>t reported that Mexican authorities are still searching for a motive for the kidnapping, with one possible theory that the American nationals were confused with Haitian drug smugglers.
The four U.S. citizens were assaulted and kidnapped on Friday after they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into Matamoros, Tamaulipas while driving a white minivan with a North Carolina license plate, the FBI said in a statement released through the U.S. Embassy in Mexico.
&#8220;Shortly after crossing into Mexico, unidentified gunmen fired upon the passengers in the vehicle,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/two-americans-kidnapped-in-mexico-found-dead">statement</a> said. &#8220;All four Americans were placed in a vehicle and taken from the scene by armed men.&#8221;
Following the kidnapping, authorities launched a rescue operation for the group of friends that had traveled from South Carolina to buy medicines.
Relatives of the kidnapped told The Post that the four traveled to Mexico for McGee to undergo medical treatment to remove abdominal fat. After crossing the border into Matamoros, they were caught in a shootout between rival cartel gangs and eventually forced into the back of a pickup truck at gunpoint.
The kidnappers allegedly moved the victims throughout Tamaulipas to confuse and avoid efforts from authorities to rescue them, Tamaulipas Gov. Américo Villarreal said.
&#8220;This tragic incident only highlights a rising preoccupation in the United States about Mexico&#8217;s lack of interest in facing down organized crime,&#8221; Tony Payan, director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico at Rice University&#8217;s Baker Institute, said, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Payan said the kidnapping &#8220;has become a symbol of impunity in Mexico.&#8221;
The State Department has a travel advisory on its website that warns U.S. citizens against traveling to Tamaulipas state, located south of Texas, due to &#8220;crime and kidnapping.&#8221;
The FBI offered a $50,000 reward for the return of the victims and the arrest of those involved.
Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.

Mexican Authorities Arrest Suspect In Kidnapping, Murder Of U.S. Nationals

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