Border / Cartel Chronicles

Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced his appointment of a border czar to head Operation Lone Star. The announcement came on Monday during a press conference in the Rio Grande Valley.

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended a group of migrants wearing camouflage in the desert mountains of Arizona. A team of federal agencies worked together to find and apprehend the migrants.

A search in a newly discovered clandestine grave site in central Mexico netted 14 bodies to date. The site discovery comes at a time when Mexico continues to experience rising levels of cartel violence.

U.S. Coast Guardsmen rescued nearly 300 migrants attempting to flee Haiti on a sailing vessel. Photos show the migrants packed on the deck of the overloaded boat.

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers arrested an armed female for allegedly smuggling migrants after she crashed her vehicle and fled on foot. A pursuit in Zavala County, Texas, on January 25 led to the arrest of the Dallas-area woman, and her companion.

A journalist in Cancun, Mexico, survived a shooting attack after five gunmen attempted to kidnap him. The journalist is frequently targeted and threatened for his reporting. In October, unknown gunmen firebombed a delivery vehicle from the same news outlet he works for.

Two migrants died after a vehicle accident that occurred on a bridge in Texas Wednesday near Uvalde. The deceased migrants survived the crash but later died after jumping from the bridge. Authorities believe the migrants may have fallen after fleeing on foot to avoid arrest by pursuing law enforcement. Four other migrants survived the nearly 40-foot fall.

Un grupo de sicarios ejecuto a una joven que se había vuelto contra su organización criminal y comenzó a denunciar públicamente la complicidad de funcionarios del gobierno y capos de la droga a través de las redes sociales.

Swanton Sector Border Patrol officials report an increase in migrant apprehensions of nearly 743 percent in the first quarter of FY23 despite life-threatening weather conditions in the Canadian border region of Vermont and New York.

The Texas Facilities Commission awarded a $224 million contract to build nearly ten miles of 30-foot border wall segments on private or state-owned properties along the Rio Grande in Webb County.

Los traficantes de personas con nexos a los cárteles en México han ideado una forma más rápida y económica para trasladar a una gran cantidad de migrantes caribeños, principalmente de Haití, desde la Ciudad de México a la ciudad fronteriza de Reynosa. A través de una laguna burocrática y, en ocasiones, con la ayuda de funcionarios de inmigración mexicanos corruptos, los traficantes de personas pueden usar una aerolínea de bajo costo en México en lugar de autobuses o automóviles.

Cartel-connected human smugglers are using a faster and cheaper way to move primarily Haitian migrants from Mexico City to the border city of Reynosa. Using a bureaucratic loophole and sometimes corrupt immigration officials, smugglers are able to use low-cost airlines instead of ground transportation.

Authorities in the border state of Sonora were forced to change their story that extortion schemes were not a problem after new videos of cartel gunmen beating innocent victims surfaced recently. The violence is allegedly the result of victims not paying the Sinaloa Cartel for the right to work.

Los taxistas en la región turística de Cancún han comenzado a actuar como mafiosos en sus esfuerzos por mantener fuera a los conductores de Uber y servicios similares. Durante varios días, grupos de taxistas han agredido a conductores rivales, asustando a los turistas e incluso extorsionando a los choferes para dejarlos operar.

Taxi drivers in Cancun are acting like mobsters to keep rideshare drivers out of the market and are sometimes resorting to violence against gig workers.

Kinney County, Texas, Sheriff Brad Coe issued a plea for other law enforcement agencies to help with the continued flow of migrants through his county. The sheriff sent a letter to fellow sheriffs in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas asking for available resources to be sent immediately to Kinney County.

U.S. Coast Guardsman interdicted an overloaded sailboat in Bahamanian waters on January 21. Coast Guard officials found the vessel after rescuing one Haitian migrant who reportedly fell overboard.

A video showing cartel gunmen beating a taco vendor sparked outrage in Mexico where government officials claim crime is decreasing and extortion is not an issue.

Un grupo de sicarios mató a toda una familia durante un intento de asesinato contra un narco-político que operaba para una organización rival. Durante el ataque, los hombres armados mataron a 6 personas, incluidos los dos hijos y la esposa de la víctima.

A group of cartel gunmen killed an entire family during an assassination attempt targeting a narco-politician who worked for a rival organization. During the attack, the gunmen killed 6 people including the intended victim’s two children and wife.

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers charged a Houston man with human smuggling following a high-speed pursuit in Uvalde County. Police later confirmed the man to be a member of the Pyro Bloods gang.

A Mexican judge drew criticism for a controversial ruling this week where he granted house arrest to a politician who had been in jail since 2020 for an acid attack on a woman.

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrested two alleged human smugglers in possession of handguns near the Arizona border with Mexico.

El asesinato de dos sicarios dentro de una prisión estatal de Tamaulipas a solo 24 horas de su llegada muestra el control que las organizaciones criminales mexicanas tienen no solo fuera sino también dentro del sistema penitenciario de Tamaulipas. Funcionarios estatales han estado trabajando para ocultar los detalles del caso para minimizar las noticias negativas sobre la narco-violencia en la región.

The murders of two cartel gunmen inside a Mexican border state prison 24 hours after their arrival shows the control criminal organizations have behind bars in Tamaulipas. Officials have been working to cover up details of the case.

Border Patrol agents assigned to the five Texas-based border sectors apprehended nearly 407,000 migrants during the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2023. This represents an increase of nearly 32 percent over the same period in FY22 and accounts for 64 percent of all migrant apprehensions so far this fiscal year.

A former Mexican police officer wanted in connection with the mass killing of 43 education students in the town of Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, in 2014, tried to sneak into New Mexico last month. U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested him this week and

A federal judge sentenced a Texas border county commissioner to 20 years in prison for his role in a multi-million-dollar bribery scheme. A former border city commissioner turned witness also received a lighter sentence.

Border Patrol agents apprehended a record-setting 4.2 million migrants during his first 23 months in office. The apprehension of 221,181 migrants by Border Patrol agents along the southwest border during the month of December brought the FY23 total to 633,451.

The Biden Administration announced another record-setting month for migrant encounters along the U.S.-Mexico border. The report of nearly 252,000 migrant encounters came in a Friday-night after-hours news dump. This represents the largest single-month report in U.S. history.

Un juez de la Ciudad de México ordenó la detención sin fianza de 12 miembros de una célula de distribución de drogas por varios cargos criminales. Se cree que la célula, que se cree tiene nexos al Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación de México, está detrás del intento de asesinato de uno de los periodistas más famosos del país, Ciro Gómez Leyva.

A judge in Mexico City ordered 12 members of a drug distribution cell be held without bond on various charges Thursday. The cell, tied to Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), is believed to be behind the attempted murder of one of the country’s most famous journalists, Ciro Gomez Leyva.

A Florida man accused of sexually abusing a corpse is dead after an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. A coworker allegedly walked in on the man during the abuse.

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrested three human smugglers after finding a group of migrants in a towed boat. This incident took place at an interior immigration checkpoint near the border in Arizona.

Mientras el gobierno de México continúa ignorando retenes improvisados por el Cartel Del Golfo, extorsiones y el cobro de piso a lo largo de algunas de las principales carreteras en el estado fronterizo de Tamaulipas, grupos de viajeros han comenzado a protestar.

As Mexico’s government continues to ignore impromptu cartel checkpoints and extortion operations along some of the main highways in the border state of Tamaulipas, travelers are now protesting.

Las autoridades mexicanas arrestaron a siete miembros de una célula del Cartel de Sinaloa que se ha relacionado con numerosos asesinatos y otros delitos violentos en el estado fronterizo de Baja California.