Edited by BicaraHatiku at 2-2-2025 10:46 PM
The goal of our time with the group was to understand how the cartel is reacting to being squarely targeted by this new administration. The collective response was a shrug.
"We're not worried. This is day to day," one cartel member told us.
"This is what we're going to do."
It's business as usual, they say, as they unloaded two rifles and three handguns from hidden compartments in an SUV that had just driven across the border from the U.S. To be clear, they passed through an official port of entry, right past border guards.
Every single one of the guns this group traffics, they say, is bought in the U.S. and then shipped south.
The Mexican Department of Foreign Relations officially estimates that somewhere between 70% and 90% of guns in Mexico originated from and passed through the U.S.
By designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, many speculate that Trump is taking the first step toward deploying U.S. special forces in Mexico. However, the cartel members tell me special operators have been here for years.
"They've been here for a long time. They've been working directly, they've trained personnel here," a cartel smuggler said. "The U.S. military has sent people here to Mexico for that."
The SUV took off shortly thereafter. We were told by the group later it made it across the border without incident.
| 
Post time 2-2-2025 12:55 AM
变色卡
Author
Post time 2-2-2025 07:17 AM
