Montana Tribe Overwhelmed With Mexican Cartels

Tribal leaders in Montana issued an urgent plea to Congress. They are overwhelmed and outmatched. Mexican drug cartels exploit jurisdictional loopholes. These cartels embed themselves on Native American reservations with devastating effects.

Jeffrey Stiffarm, president of the Fort Belknap Indian Community, testified about the Sinaloa Cartel’s operations in his region. They operate with near impunity, capitalizing on chronic underfunding of law enforcement. The 652,000-acre reservation is patrolled by just nine officers.

“We are fighting a losing battle. The cartels are winning, the drug dealers are winning,” Stiffarm told Congress. “We are left alone to fight this battle against them.”

Stiffarm told “NewsNation Prime” that many cartel operatives have infiltrated reservations across the American West. They use the isolated lands as havens to traffic fentanyl pills and other drugs into the United States. This occurs without scrutiny from federal authorities.

“They know we’re short-staffed, underfunded, under-trained and outnumbered,” said Stiffarm, a former law enforcement officer for two decades. “They’re preying on our people, our children, our women. They get a foothold in and they’re here.”

The Fort Belknap leader described cartel tactics. He mentioned staging fake emergencies to divert the limited police presence. Then, they quickly shuttle narcotics across other parts of the reservation undercover.

But the devastation transcends drug running, as cartel operatives deeply embed themselves in tribal communities grappling with 70% unemployment rates and that are hours from urban centers. Stiffarm said rapes and murders committed by cartels have become tragically commonplace.