(NewsNation) — Border Patrol agents in Tucson, Arizona, shared real-time intelligence with the Mexican government, leading to a major dismantling of cartel lookout sites on the United States’ southern border.
Mexican forces arrested four suspects and seized:
- 10 loaded magazines
- 300 rounds of ammunition
- A bulletproof vest
- 30 blue wrappers filled with methamphetamine
Solar panels, radios critical for cartel scouts
There was another bust along a popular tourist route, just north of Puerto Peñasco, less than an hour’s drive from the U.S. border at Lukeville.
There, authorities found an AR-15 rifle, multiple solar panels and radio communication gear ready to guide cartel smuggling ops across the border.
The solar panels and radios were critical tools for cartel scouts, lookouts stationed in the desert to spy on Border Patrol movements and guide smugglers through gaps along the Arizona border.
US ramping up defenses at border
But this joint operation sent a loud message: Cartels can set up shop, but the U.S. and Mexico will tear it down.
That’s why the U.S. is ramping up its own defenses. Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited a newly created National Defense Area in New Mexico, a 100,000-acre stretch now under military control, warning that any illegal crossing there is now considered trespassing onto a U.S. military base.
“They know we mean business, but they weren’t counting on a national defense area. They weren’t counting on a, effectively, a military base along the border,” Hegseth said.
This new military zone is a direct strike against cartels, smugglers, and criminal gangs that have been exploiting the southern border for years.
Mexico trying to stop drug trafficking at source
Mexico is also taking big action inside its borders, dismantling drug labs, costing the cartels millions of dollars as part of an effort called “Operation Frontera Norte — Northern Border Operation.”
It launched in February, after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reached an agreement with President Trump to deploy 10,000 National Guard troops across 18 northern Mexico cities, aiming to stop drug trafficking right at the source.
Since then, Mexican forces have arrested more than 2,700 people, and seized more than:
- 2,300 guns
- 376,000 rounds of ammunition
- 66,000 pounds of drugs (including more than 350 pounds of fentanyl)
A major hit happened in the mountains of Durango this week: Mexican Marines dismantled two hidden meth labs in Tamazula, seizing about 330 pounds of meth, along with nearly 3,200 gallons and 770 pounds of chemical precursors, the raw materials cartels use to flood U.S. streets with drugs.
Authorities say these busts strike right at the cartels’ wallets, costing them millions of dollars and preventing thousands of doses of dangerous drugs from reaching young people.
US, Mexico have worked together on border-related issues before
This isn’t the first time U.S. forces have worked with Mexican forces to enhance border security.
For example, in September 2023, Troy A. Miller, who was the senior official performing the duties of the commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the time, met with the Mexican government and the railway industry.
After that meeting, Miller said, “We are continuing to work closely without partners in Mexico to increase security and address irregular migration along our shared border. The United States and Mexico remain committed to stemming the flow of irregular migration driven by unscrupulous smugglers, while maintaining access to lawful pathways.”