Twenty-two members of the Mexico Sinaloa cartel have been arrested, and two others have been killed in Mexico. According to the US and Mexican authorities, this happened after a raid near US-Mexico border where they were able to apprehend assault-type weapons.
According to Reuters, during the arrest, the suspects were able to open fire on the authorities. They surrounded a building outside a town in Mexico where they run drugs and migrant smuggling activity operation. According to the authorities, this operation was a big blow to the cartel after their leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman with the help of Washington was arrested after a violent stand off last month.
The operation which was called "Mexican Operation Diablo Express" was directed to capture high-level members of the cartel. According to ICE spokeswoman Gillian Christensen, the operation was carried out with outmost confidentiality to maintain the element of surprise as well keep the authorities safe. During the operation, the authorities nabbed 250 kilograms of marijuana, 18 guns plus 15 assault rifles.
The Sinaloa cartel, which was operating around Sonoyta has smuggled millions of pounds of illegal drugs, millions of cash across the two countries. These gangs have been known to work with and pay migrants to smuggle small amounts of drugs across the border. They use the underground tunnels and cargo shipments to move larger amounts of drugs in the US. It is in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, a vast wilderness in Arizona which is known as a soft point for this illegal migrants to enter the border.
The cooperation between the US and Mexico has been having been solid in capturing these cartels which are responsible for sneaking in billions of dollars of illegal drugs across the border every year. The lack of extreme security across the US-Mexico border has been a hot issue during the US presidential race. Donald Trump has proposed to construct a wall along the entire length of the border.
