Violence continues on the U.S.-Mexico border after Mexican drug cartels have been engaged battles against the Mexican military.
During an interview with Fox Business host Stuart Varney, Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez said that while illegal border crossings have decreased, violent battles are still an everyday occurrence on the border.
“Well Stuart, you know, we have got the numbers a lot lower than what they were before from the prior administration, I can tell you for a fact, in the last couple of days, illegal border crossings between the points of entry, have been below 500, which we have not experienced in years.” Olivarez said.
However, Olivarez noted that the only way the border could be considered in full control of the U.S. again, would be if the number of illegal crossing drops to zero.
“Now, I think in order to gain full operational control, we have to get that number down to zero where we don’t have any illegal border crossings,” Olivarez said. “Also stop the flow of illegal drugs such as fentanyl crossing the border between the points of entry and actually go after the cartels and focus on more criminals. I think once we’re able to reach that and accomplish that, then we can say that 100% mission is accomplished.”
The U.S. Consulate in Mexico issued a “shelter in place” warning to American citizens along the southern border in Mexico, after a border town was the scene of a violent shoot-out involving alleged drug cartels. It was unclear if the cartels were fighting against rival cartels, or the Mexican military.
“So, this typically happens, especially in Mexico with rival cartels and cartels against the Mexican military,” Olivarez said. “This is daily, especially along the border where we see this type of fighting with guns and explosives. More so now, the cartels have increased and actually escalated their threats and are actually using drones to drop explosives on rival cartel members or even the military.”
Olivarez added cartels are also planting improvised explosive devices (IED) on the ground to take out their rivals.
“They’re starting to escalate their threat level, that’s why we have to remain vigilant when we work along the border,” Olivarez said.
