Border Patrol and Mexican Officials Team Up to Take Down Cartel Lookout Posts

( The News Pulse ) — 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 U.S. southern border .

Mexican forces arrested four suspects and confiscated a cache including: 10 full magazines, 300 bullets, a bullet-resistant vest, and 30 packets containing methamphetamine.

There was another bust Along a well-traveled tourist path, situated slightly north of Puerto Peñasco, this location is within a short 60-minute drive from the U.S. border near Lukeville.

At the location, officials discovered an AR-15 rifle, several solar panels, and radio equipment prepared to direct the cartels. smuggling ops across the border.

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The solar panels and radios were essential equipment for cartel scouts—lookouts posted in the desert to monitor Border Patrol activities and direct smugglers through openings along the Arizona border. border .

Yet this collaborative effort conveyed a clear warning: Even if cartels establish their operations, the U.S. and Mexico will dismantle them.

This is why the U.S. is enhancing its defense strategies. On Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Visited a recently established National Defense Zone in New Mexico, covering a vast area of 100,000 acres now under military jurisdiction, with warnings that unauthorized entry into this region will be treated as entering a U.S. military installation.

"They understand that we're serious about this, but they didn't anticipate a national defense zone. They didn't expect something akin to an active military base near the border," said Hegseth. said .

This newly established military area serves as a clear blow to cartels, smugglers, and criminal gangs that have long taken advantage of the southern border.

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Mexico is also making significant moves within its territory by shutting down drug laboratories, which has cost the cartels millions of dollars. This initiative is part of a campaign known as "Operation Frontera Norte -- Northern Border Operation."

The initiative began in February when Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum struck a deal with President Trump to dispatch 10,000 National Guard members throughout 18 towns along Mexico’s northern border. The aim was to halt drug smuggling closer to where it originates.

Following those events, Mexican forces have apprehended over 2,700 individuals, confiscated more than 2,300 firearms, 376,000 rounds of ammo, and over 66,000 pounds of narcotics, which includes more than 350 pounds of fentanyl.

This week in the hills of Durango, Mexican Marines struck a significant blow against drug trafficking: they shut down two clandestine methamphetamine laboratories in Tamazula. The operation resulted in the confiscation of approximately 330 pounds of meth, alongside almost 3,200 gallons and 770 pounds of precursor chemicals—substances commonly exploited by criminal organizations to supply illicit drugs to American communities.

Officials claim these raids deal a significant financial blow to the cartels, resulting in losses amounting to millions of dollars and stopping thousands of doses of harmful substances from reaching youth.

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