Border / Cartel Chronicles


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Smugglers Abandon Two Little Girls After Crossing Border into Texas

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers rescued two young girls who were abandoned by human smugglers along the Rio Grande after crossing from Mexico. During his successful bid to retake the White House, President-Elect Donald Trump called on Congress to apply the death penalty to child traffickers.

Abandoned Children at Texas Border (Texas Department of Public Safety)

Canadian Fugitive Gunned Down in Mexico by Gunmen near Cancun

Authorities in Mexico are investigating the targeted killing of a Canadian man who had pending arrest warrants in his home country for arms trafficking and human trafficking. The murder took place on Saturday outside a busy shopping plaza in Playa Del Carmen, Quintana Roo, a popular beach destination just a short drive from Cancun.

Cancun Raid

Biden Admin Released Suspected Terrorist After Texas Warned of Connection, Later Re-Arrested

A multi-agency manhunt resulted in the arrest of a South African migrant and suspected terrorist in Brooklyn, New York. Texas Highway Patrol troopers initially detained the unidentified man in Texas in September 2024. He was arrested for criminal trespass as part of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star and was turned over to federal immigration authorities for removal proceedings. Despite being identified by the state authorities as being the subject of an alert on the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database, federal authorities released the migrant to pursue an asylum claim.

South African Migrant on Terror Watch List Arrested in Texas (Texas Department of Public S

Four Killed, Three Injured in Shootout at Mexican Cockfight

A group of gunmen stormed a clandestine cockfighting ring and began shooting into the crowd in a violent attack that killed four men and injured three others. The shootout is the latest of a growing wave of hyperviolent crimes that have plagued Mexico while the government claims the country has improved in public safety.

Colima Main

Bolivia’s Ex-Narcotics Director Extradited to U.S. on Gun, Cocaine Charges

Maximiliano Davila-Perez, once the Director of the Bolivian Special Forces for the Fight Against Drug Trafficking (FELCN), has been extradited to the United States where he faces federal charges of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. He is also charged with conspiracy to use and possess automatic weapons in connection with his cocaine importation scheme. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced Davila-Perez’ extradition from Bolivia on Friday.

Maximiliano Davila-Perez Extradited to U.S. (Bolivian Ministry of Government)

Special Counsel Questions Investigation into CBP Air Response in Migrant, Border Agent’s Deaths

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel questioned the findings of a CBP internal investigation concerning a whistleblower complaint that, among other allegations, the Deming New Mexico Air Unit was prevented from responding to emergency calls, resulting in several deaths. The deaths included one migrant and a Border Patrol agent who died in July 2020. After investigating the matter, the Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) ruled the allegations were unsubstantiated.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations

San Diego Sheriff Rejects County’s New Sanctuary Policy

On Tuesday, San Diego County Sheriff Kelly A. Martinez announced that her office will not abide by a new sanctuary policy adopted by the Southern California county’s Board of Supervisors. The latest sanctuary policy limits cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers by prohibiting county law enforcement officers from granting ICE agents access to individuals or using County facilities for investigative interviews.

Getty Images and San Diego County Sheriff's Department

Historic East Texas Church Destroyed by Fire

Five East Texas fire departments responded to a blaze Monday morning that consumed a 163-year-old Methodist Church in Marshall. In the 1860s, the church served as an ammunition warehouse and meeting place for Confederate leaders, including President Jefferson Davis.

Marshal Texas Methodist Church Fire (Marshall Fire Department)

Texas Cities Plagued with Mexican Cartel Truck Thefts

The recent federal conviction and sentence of a man who tried to run over an FBI agent while driving a stolen truck into Mexico highlights a growing trend plaguing South Texas. Multiple cities are seeing a rise in the thefts of four-door SUVs and pickups that are taken into Mexico at the request of the Gulf Cartel. The criminal organization uses the trucks in their ongoing turf wars.

A suspect holds a woman at gunpoint in Brownsville during a carjacking. (Credit: Brownsvil

Trump Taps Former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott to Head Customs and Border Protection

President-Elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday that former Chief of the United States Border Patrol, Rodney S. Scott, will be his nominee for the post of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner. In a post on the incoming president’s social media platform Truth Social, Trump cited Scott’s vast experience in immigration policy and his previous service as the agency head for the United States Border Patrol under the prior Trump administration.

President Donald Trump and Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott. (FILE: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Gett