A Gulf Cartel member reportedly smuggled five illegal immigrants into the United States from Mexico, but the suspect was subsequently captured by Texas DPS officers.
According to law enforcement authorities, a Mexican drug cartel scout who was also working as a human smuggling guide was detained this week after being apprehended on the Texas side of the United States--Mexico border with the aforementioned immigrants, as Fox News reported.
Salvador De Jesus Romero Nunez, originally from Reynosa, Mexico, was apprehended by authorities from the Border Patrol and the Texas Department of Public Safety after he directed a group of people over the Rio Grande River which separates Texas and Mexico.
Authorities' Actions
The authorities had been following the gang, who had just made it into Texas after crossing the river. They arrested six people for entering the country illegally, and allegations of human smuggling have been filed against Romero.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which is located in Brownsville, Texas, is on the other side of the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, the Cartel del Golfo, also known as the Gulf Cartel, which has its headquarters in Matamoros.
Later, the investigators determined that he worked as a south and smuggling guide for the Gulf Cartel.
Mexican Gulf Cartel member caught in Texas with 6 illegal immigrants, authorities say https://t.co/CQydAanIR5
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 26, 2023
Over the past few months, authorities along the border have seen an increase in activity in the region by members of Mexican cartels.
A member of the Gulf Cartel was taken into custody in June on the suspicion that he had assisted five illegal immigrants in entering the United States.
State of the Border
At the beginning of this month, two Mexican nationals with links to cartels were detained as they attempted to cross the Texas-Mexico border armed with guns and bullets that could penetrate armor.
"There is no greater public safety and national security threat than the Mexican drug cartels, who have exploited security vulnerabilities due to an unsecured international border," a Texas DPS spokesperson said at the time.
Despite this growing issue, the Mexican president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has rebuked the Republican party for calling for greater action, including military action against cartels in Mexico itself.
Obrador has also voiced his disapproval of Texas Governor Greg Abbott's decision to construct a barrier of floating rafts along the Rio Grande in order to stop migrants from crossing.
