Photo byU.S. Border Patrol

Although it's unlikely that most Americans have heard of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) & U.S. Customs & Border Protection's (CBP) "Operation Apollo" - Mexican Cartels are very aware of its success in targeting their Fentanyl Operations which began on October 23, 2023.

Since its launch, this anti-fentanyl operation has put a huge dent in the cartels' fentanyl smuggling operations into the U.S. up and down the Southern Border with Mexico.

CBP Agents in Tucson, Arizona stripped a car down to bare metal to find 90 pounds of Fentanyl being smuggled into the U.S. (August 19, 2024)Photo byU.S. Customs & Border Protection

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, the DHS through "Operation Apollo" has so far:

• Arrested over 3,600 subjects connected to fentanyl seizure events, which directly hits the organized criminal networks responsible for bringing fentanyl into our communities.
• Seized over 2,200 pill presses.
• Seized over 27,000 pounds of illicit fentanyl to stop it at our borders and in our communities before it harms the American public. These seizures were conducted by DHS agencies such as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
• CBP fentanyl seizures so far in FY2024 amount to 738.5 million doses.
• Initiated 5,874 narcotics-related investigations at HSI.
• Continued deploying new technology to intercept even more fentanyl before it enters the United States and has invested millions of dollars including artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning to target and dismantle the cartels and their illicit supply chains.
• Partnered with state and local law enforcement through task forces, like HSI’s Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST), to eliminate barriers between federal and local law enforcement to target multi-national criminal organizations.

Federal Agents in Lukeville, AZ confiscated more than 1,000 lbs. of Fentanyl - The largest seizure in CBP history (July 1, 2024).Photo byU.S. Customs & Border Protection

The efforts have intensified in recent months:

• The CPB in April expanded their efforts to also launch Operation Plaza Spike to target "Plaza Bosses" and the cartel followers that control the flow of deadly fentanyl, as well as its chemical ingredients to make dangerous drugs. Plaza bosses are Cartel operatives who supervise and control the flow of illicit products in their specific geographic corridors. On July 18, 2023, CBP expanded the operation to El Paso and Juarez.

• In June 2024, HSI indicted 47 members of an Imperial Valley-based, Sinaloa Cartel-linked fentanyl distribution network; and in July, the de facto head of the Sinaloa Cartel was arrested, the culmination of over a decade-long collaboration between various HSI offices, foreign partners, and U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors’ offices, serving a significant blow to one of the main producers of fentanyl plaguing U.S. communities.

361 pounds of fentanyl and cocaine seized by CPB Agents in Otay Mesa, California (August 9, 2024).Photo byU.S. Customs & Border Protection

Based on these early successes, the pressure being applied against Mexican Cartel Fentanyl Operations is likely to increase in the months ahead. Law enforcement officers along the U.S. Southern Borders hope this pressure will turn the tide in the battle against Fentanyl smuggling into our country.

Should more be done to fight cartel fentanyl smuggling operations along the U.S. Southern Border?

Share your opinion in the comments on this article!

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