Sinaloa Cartel Leader Discusses Trump’s Impact on Operations

A leader of the Sinaloa Cartel commented in a CNN interview that President Donald Trump’s policies have complicated their operations at the border, as revealed in footage released Tuesday.

CNN’s Senior National Correspondent David Culver rode along with a masked cartel member who had been concealing his identity for six months during the segment covering how Mexican cartels recruit young Americans. According to cartel members, Trump’s stringent measures against them have made their tasks more challenging.

Culver probed, asking, “Do you think what President Trump is doing has made your work even tougher?” The cartel member acknowledged, “Yeah, that’s right.”

When Culver pressed for further clarity, asking, “Yes? But is that more difficult than you think?” the member confirmed, “Yes.”

Trump recently signed an executive order designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations upon re-entering the country on January 20th. This order aims to “completely eliminate” these criminal groups that pose threats to the U.S. security.

In early August, Trump authorized U.S. troops to target Latin American cartels under this terrorist classification, including permission for airstrikes to curb cartel operations in the Caribbean. The administration also conducted military strikes against drug trafficking vessels on their way to the U.S.

On September 4th, a lawyer for the District of Columbia, in collaboration with a federal agency, seized 1,300 barrels of methamphetamine precursors shipped from Shanghai intended for the Sinaloa cartel. Furthermore, the Pentagon is contemplating drone strikes against drug traffickers in Venezuela.

Trump stated on September 2nd that Mexican President Claudia Shainbaum had declined his proposal to send U.S. troops to combat the cartel, describing her as “very scary” due to the cartel’s influence in her country.