According to Border Agents, Mexican Drug Cartels are now using ‘disposable’ US teens to move drugs across the border.
Border agents found nearly 1,200 pounds of marijuana being smuggled through Brownsville last week after a driver lost control and crashed.
Agents from the Fort Brown border patrol station first noticed the vehicle Feb. 22 because it was speeding. They gave chase and found the driver had flipped the vehicle, according to a written release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The vehicle contained 52 bundles of marijuana weighing over 1,200 pounds, according to the release. The estimated value of the drugs is $969,000. The drugs were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The article then goes onto explain how they are being used by Mexican Cartels.
“Juveniles in our community are being exploited,” Patrol Agent in Charge Letisia Camarillo said in the release. “They are making decisions that put themselves at risk and they don’t understand the consequences. Juveniles are viewed as cheap and disposable labor, a means for cartels to push their illicit product.”
Both the driver and the passenger are U.S. citizens, and the passenger is a juvenile, a press release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection stated.
“[Cartels] constantly recruit to replace kids that are arrested and prosecuted,” Camarillo said. “It’s a horrific cycle and we need to come together to educate our children about the consequences.”
The driver and passenger will face charges of narcotic smuggling from the Cameron County district attorney’s office.
This is just another story showcasing the dangers at the border. Not only do the Cartels have a foothold in the villages and towns in Mexico but they also are able to hit the border towns in the United States.
Here is a map of just how close Brownsville is to Mexico.
