Grand Canyon Times

Kari Lake, U.S. Senate Candidate in Arizona said she will "confront the cartels" who have taken control of the U.S.-Mexico border. Lake made the comment in a Sept. 24 post on X, responding to a 60 Minutes special on the Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels. 

"As your U.S. Senator, I will confront the cartels and dismantle their Operations," Lake said. "My opponent Ruben Gallego will never go after the cartels. He’s controlled by them."

An upsurge in cartel conflicts, particularly in once-peaceful areas like Chiapas, has led to a surge in Mexican families migrating to the U.S., Reuters reported. Many migrants cited violence as the primary factor for leaving, rather than economic reasons.

“California has basically become an open territory for the cartel to do what it wants," Sheriff Mike Boudreax said while testifying before Congress on Sept. 10. The Tulare Sheriff called for immigration enforcement to be “actively and aggressively addressed by Federal and State officials.”

CBS News reported cartels using surveillance cameras in the border city of San Luis Rio Colorado, next to Arizona.

According to the Center for Immigration Studies, cartels' drug trafficking and human smuggling operations gain $1 billion per month. This money is being used to expand the operations across the southwest border into the U.S.

Cartel members bribe officials and infiltrate law enforcement, enabling long-term influence and control. The Sinaloa Cartel and Cártel Jalisco Nuevo Generación (CJNG) have established networks across the U.S.