El PASO, TEXAS – As thousands of migrants leave for the southern border, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is concerned that drug smugglers may have the same plan.
In El Paso, Texas, drug activity is already high, as border crews catch more and more people hiding drugs in cars, commercial deliveries and even backpacks almost daily. Both agents and people living there say they are worried it could get worse.
“It does worry me, because you know, you never know. There are good people, there are bad people … you never know it can be dangerous,” Albert Hernandez told Fox News.
Hernandez has lived in Sunland Park, New Mexico for the past thirty years. The city lies along the southern border, just minutes outside El Paso. He has seen many changes, including the construction of the boundary wall, but recently he has noticed that more people are trying to cross illegally – especially where there are gaps along the mountains.
Along Mount Cristo Rey in El Paso, TX and Sunland Park, NM, you see part of the border wall between America and Mexico (Stephanie Bennett / Fox News).
“Sometimes it’s like a daily thing you know, every day,” Hernandez said. “People try to come in like a suit.”
The illegal crossings keep the border patrol – and also the El Paso DEA – busy.
“In the first five months, we spent more than the whole year on those for 2019 and 2020, so it’s important to us and it’s all drugs across the line, it’s methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin and cocaine. The only remedy is marijuana, we have not caught that much yet, “Kyle Williamson, DEA’s special agent for the El Paso division, told Fox News.
In less than six months – since October – agents have seized more than 1,451 kilograms of meth, fentanyl, heroin and cocaine. This is almost more than the total amount for the financial year 2020 (1,462 kg) and 2019 (1,609 kg).
The DEA says 90% of the drugs come from the southwestern border from Mexico (Stephanie Bennett / Fox News).
The DEA’s El Paso Division covers western Texas and New Mexico and patrols approximately 778 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, which is more than any other division of the DEA. Once the drug enters the country, it moves quickly.
“Once you cross the border into El Paso, you can have access to the entire U.S. interstate system from here,” Williamson said. “Ninety percent of the drugs come through the southwestern border and come in through Mexico, and they come in commercial cargo. … They have the ability to have these megalaboratories down there, they have greater access to chemical precursors so they produce methamphetamine and drugs like fentanyl 24/7. “
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials are still shifting manpower across the southwest to deal with migrant traffic. The DEA says it is working closely with other agencies to combat this issue (Stephanie Bennett / Fox News).
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials are constantly shifting manpower across the Southwest to deal with migrant traffic. In some cases, such as in Arizona, they completely shut down certain checkpoints. Williamson says it will attract drug smugglers.
“The migrant crisis here in the El Paso area is relatively new, so at the moment I can not attribute it to the migrant crisis, if I look down 60 to 90 days, the cartels will take a situation like this and try to exploit it. more drugs as a result, ”said Williamson.
For now, Hernandez says he’s glad he has the extra eyes on his backyard.
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“I feel safer, you know, it’s nice, it’s quiet,” he said. “I think Border Patrol is doing their job to be honest, and that’s why I feel especially during these times, you know, with the Coronavirus thing and everything that’s going on, it’s safe, I feel safe. Like I said, I mean people trying to fix it, it’s going very hard, they do not know. ‘
As long as there is a demand in the US, the drug cartels will find ways to bring in drugs. The DEA says it is working closely with other agencies to combat this issue.