Mexican cartels are shifting direction in what they move across the U.S.-Mexico border. They are focusing on high-value contraband and other illicit drugs. Illegal border crossings have decreased by 98% in a once high-traffic area from the Biden-Harris era.
In Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, cartel smugglers continue to smuggle drugs like fentanyl into the United States.
A year ago, the sector monitored by the U.S. Border Patrol was seeing up to 2,000 illegal border crossings by migrants per day. Cartels were largely responsible for smuggling large groups of migrants across the border.
With the enormous reduction in illegal crossings, cartels have shifted their business model to trafficking drugs into the U.S. as a way of making up for profits lost from moving people across the border.
Border Patrol officials indicate cartels are using Mexican nationals with dual citizenship to move the drugs at legal ports of entry. Meanwhile, at border spots between legal points of entry, they said cartels are recruiting teenagers. These teenagers bring over large amounts of drugs carried in backpacks. Once caught, the teens are then sent back into Mexico but are not charged because of their age.
This week the Drug Enforcement Administration discovered a 25-foot-deep tunnel inside a Laredo, Texas vape shop business.
This is part of an enforcement operation, known as “Operation Vaporizer,” to target American vape shops, including those along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Texas authorities believe the U.S. could start to see an increase in cartels using tunnels for smuggling activities. This includes human and drug smuggling. The reason is to avoid confrontation with the U.S. military presence on the border.
Earlier this year, Border Patrol agents on the San Diego border discovered a large-scale smuggling tunnel. They disabled it after uncovering the tunnel, which extended more than 1,000 feet inside the U.S. The tunnel was highly sophisticated. It was equipped with electrical wiring and lighting. It even had a built-in track system designed to transport large quantities of contraband.
On Wednesday, Sept. 24, CBP officers at Hidalgo International Bridge referred 71-year-old Javier Garza, a U.S. citizen, for a secondary inspection after a primary inspection. During secondary examination, CBP officers used biometric verification and federal law enforcement databases. They discovered that he was the subject of an outstanding felony arrest warrant. The warrant was for failure to appear on an original charge of manslaughter issued by the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office.
The National Crime Information Center is a centralized automated database. It is designed to share information among law enforcement agencies. This includes outstanding warrants for a wide range of offenses.
CBP officers have made previous arrests based on information from NCIC. They have arrested individuals wanted for crimes such as homicide, escape, money laundering, and robbery. Other crimes include narcotics distribution, sexual child abuse, fraud, larceny, and military desertion.
On Sept. 22, CBP officers at the Roma International Bridge cargo facility encountered a tractor trailer. It was hauling a commercial shipment of carbonated soft drinks.
The trailer was attempting to make entry to the U.S. from Mexico. A CBP officer selected the tractor trailer for inspection, which included utilizing nonintrusive inspection equipment and a canine team. Physical inspection led to the discovery of alleged methamphetamine within the beverage shipment with combined weight of 1,473.65 pounds (668.44 kg). The methamphetamine has a total estimated street value of $13,173,615.
On Sept. 22 at the Del Rio International Bridge, a CBP officer referred a Chevrolet Silverado being driven by a 28-year-old male lawful permanent resident of the United States for secondary inspection. CBP officers conducted a secondary examination of the vehicle that included utilization of CBP canines and a nonintrusive inspection system.
Upon a physical examination, CBP officers discovered six packages containing a total of 15.12 pounds of alleged cocaine, hidden within decorative obsidian figurines. The cocaine has a combined estimated street value of $201,931.
CBP seized the narcotics. Texas Department of Public Safety officers arrested the driver, two additional passengers, and initiated a criminal investigation.
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Clever Journeys 
You’ve gotta love this great catalogue of justice. Isn’t it heartening, after all these decades of drugs relentlessly coming in, hardly ever making any headway in stopping it, finally seeing definite and effective action? So good.
It’ll take a little while to convince them that resistance is futile.
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