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As if the flood of illegal migrants into the country weren’t reason enough for concern, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has published a disturbing new report. The DEA’s National Drug Threat Assessment 2024 report found cartel operations in all 50 states, accounting for “the flow of nearly all illicit drugs into the United States.”
The Cartel in America
The Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels are the main organizations in play, and they command a worldwide organized criminal network to deliver their illicit drugs, especially fentanyl. This network includes global supply chains, international shippers, corrupt officials, cross-border transporters, shell companies, tunnel builders, and money launderers, the report pointed out. “The scope of the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels’ control over each segment of the criminal drug trade has effectively eliminated any competition in U.S. markets, and enabled cartel members to establish a presence in every U.S. state.”
According to a chart in the document, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and New York have the highest concentration of cartel members. Wyoming, North Dakota, Mississippi, West Virginia, Vermont, and New Hampshire have the least.
Fentanyl is one of the deadliest and most profitable drugs these gangs bring into the country. A huge concern here is that some people don’t even know what they’re getting because the cartel distribute them in colorful pills that look like prescription medication. Roque Bustamante – who allegedly earned the nickname “Skittles Man” by selling rainbow-colored fentanyl pills for the Sinaloa cartel – was arrested in Florida last week for supposedly supplying such pills.
During that investigation, the DEA seized 24 guns, including 18 rifles and six pistols, 21 kilograms of pure fentanyl, 243 pounds of crystal meth, 70,000 rainbow-colored fentanyl pills, two kilos of cocaine, and 3,000 M30 blue fentanyl pills.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has denied or downplayed the violence and criminal activity of the cartels. In March, he said that he was “not going to permit any foreign government to intervene in our territory, much less that a government’s armed forces intervene.” But the violence is so prevalent there that when Abraham Oseguera, Jalisco cartel kingpin Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes’ brother, was arrested, they only held him for nine days. This was likely the result of what happened when Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s son, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, was arrested in 2019. Jay Armes III, a private investigator who specializes in kidnappings in Mexico, told Fox News:
“When (El Chapo’s son) was captured by police, his soldiers, his henchmen basically put the entire town of Culiacan under siege. They blocked all six entrances and exits to the city. They captured buses and lit them on fire.”
The cartel opened fire on Mexican police and military, blasted airports so authorities couldn’t get Lopez out of the country, and shot down a Blackhawk helicopter and passenger aircraft, Armes explained. He added:
“They were wreaking mayhem throughout the city to the point where it became so painful that the president of Mexico himself instructed law enforcement to release him. He [President López Obrador] said it wasn’t worth the lives of so many people for the life of one.”
After all was said and done, 30 people died before Ovidio Guzman Lopez was released. Likely to prevent the same type of retaliation, El Mencho’s brother was only held nine days.
Immigration in the Polls
University of South Florida published a survey on May 15 that measured the attitudes of 1,500 voters regarding immigration. It found that 77% support increasing the number of border patrol agents and 60% support increasing barriers along the US southern border.
Furthermore, 48% oppose sanctuary cities and 47% feel states should be able to implement their own illegal immigration policies. This includes 64% of Republicans polled and 40% of Democrats. The study, sponsored by Cyber Florida at USF, found that 56% of Republican respondents support sending the National Guard to the border, while 23% of Democrats and 31% of independents agree.
A poll by Redfield & Wilton Strategies conducted exclusively for Newsweek was published on May 17 and surveyed 874 voters in New York City. When asked if they felt the surge of illegal migrants was having an impact on the crime rate, 70% agreed, with 41% saying it had a “significant” impact and 31% saying “a fair amount.”
Notable Quotes
Oklahoma’s Republican Governor Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 4156 into law in April, making it a crime to enter the state without legal authorization to be in the US. On May 21, the Biden administration filed a lawsuit against Oklahoma, challenging the state’s right to arrest migrants who entered illegally as unconstitutional.
“HB 4156 intrudes on that scheme, frustrates the United States’ immigration operations, and interferes with U.S. foreign relations,” states the government’s lawsuit.
Stitt argued otherwise, saying he was disappointed the bill was even necessary:
“Since President Biden took office in 2021, more than 10 million people have poured over the southern border. Countless individuals from across the globe, including thousands of Chinese nationals as well as people affiliated with terror organizations, have illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. Oklahomans are concerned by who could be lying in wait for an opportunity to bring harm to our country.”
What will next week bring us in Open Borders America?
