The announcement that Mexican cartels have offered up to $50,000 to kill U.S. agents and federal officials would be a great smokescreen for President Donald Trump to send more troops to the border, or even pressure Mexico to increase its presence within Mexican territory.
According to analysts consulted by this weekly, the announcement by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not identify any of the Mexican cartels as possible aggressors and only notes the acquisition of “credible information” that “Mexican criminals in coordination with domestic extremist groups” have offered specific rewards for attacking and/or killing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel.
Mike Vigil, a security analyst and former undercover DEA agent in Mexico, describes the announcement as a “massive smokescreen” to give President Trump a strong case for deploying military personnel to the Mexican border and seeking a stronger presence in our country. “It makes no sense for a Mexican cartel to threaten ICE or CBP agents when neither of those agencies poses a threat to drug trafficking, which is the primary activity of those criminal groups. Rather, they are agencies dedicated to stopping the smuggling of undocumented immigrants,” Vigil said.
According to the DHS website, the reward amounts allegedly offered vary depending on the level of attack and the rank of the federal agent. For information gathering on one of the agents, including photos and family information, the reward is $2,000. However, if someone kidnaps or assaults one of the agents, the payment would range between $5,000 and $10,000.
The largest amount offered, according to the DHS statement, would be the assassination of a high-ranking official from any of the designated agencies, with the perpetrator receiving $50,000, equivalent to almost one million Mexican pesos.
A Phoenix-based source consulted, who is part of the Sinaloa Cartel, said they know nothing about these alleged rewards, and that it makes no sense for someone to offer rewards for assaulting or killing, not just a federal agent, but a simple American citizen.
