Cartel ‘soldiers’ divvy up migrant smuggling trade in El Paso region
'Mexicles' not the only criminal group profiting from smuggling Central Americans and others
by: Julian Resendiz
Posted: Aug 23, 2019 / 04:16 PM PDT / Updated: Aug 23, 2019 / 05:43 PM PDT
EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — The arrest in Juarez of eight alleged members of the ‘Mexicles’ criminal organization in separate incidents this month is but the “tip of the iceberg†of drug cartel migrant-smuggling activity in the region, current and former law-enforcement officials say.
Juarez police on Aug. 5 stopped a convoy of three sport utility vehicles transporting Central American migrants. Six men and one woman who allegedly identified themselves as members of the ‘Mexicles’ were arrested, and three guns were seized. On Aug. 17, another alleged ‘Mexicle’ was arrested while trying to round up an Ecuadoran man who’d left a safe house holding another 12 migrants.
While drug-trafficking organizations such as the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel have been involved in migrant smuggling for several years, the migrant surge that overwhelmed the region since last October has presented new opportunities for other Mexican gangs, said former Border Patrol El Paso Sector Chief Victor Manjarrez Jr.
More at: https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/top-stories/cartel-soldiers-divvy-up-migrant-smuggling-trade-in-el-paso-region/
Thank you Captain Obvious!
