In War Against Cartels, Mexican State Finds New Ways To Fight Back

Authored by John Fredricks via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The moment a pistol was pressed against the side of cattle rancher Aaron Cameron’s head two years ago, he knew that the business he and his family had worked so hard for was about to be taken away.

Dozens of cartel gunmen drove onto his property in armored vehicles, some mounted with .50-caliber machine guns. They took over the site for more than a year, until state police officers were able to clear them out. Other residents in the area were also targeted.

“Having guns pointed at my head just became normal out here after the cartels began to steal our properties and businesses,” Cameron told The Epoch Times in Spanish through a translator.

“It was not just cattle ranches but also mining and deer hunting tourism [that] came to a stop in this area. We were just trying to make a living.”

The Mexican state of Sonora became a hotbed for gun battles in the country’s violent drug war in recent years because of the state’s location on the southern U.S. border, according to Sonora state police officials.

For many ranchers like Cameron, the violence worsened over time as cartels began breaking off into factions to battle not only police, but also each other.

Just a 30-minute drive from Cameron’s ranch, along unpaved dirt roads, an abandoned home sat plastered with hundreds of bullet holes. Nearby sat burned-out vehicles left by warring cartels.

A Sonora state police officer pointed at a small pile of bullet casings scattered along the ground, including 7.62 mm rounds fired from AK-47 automatic rifles—the signature firearm of Sonoran cartels, according to the officers.

Although drug trafficking has always been a key business for the cartels operating in the region, the drug of choice has switched from marijuana and cocaine to fentanyl, an opiate 50 times more potent than heroin.

Fentanyl trafficking became a crisis in the United States in 2014, and deaths from fentanyl began to soar, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Intelligence Program. In about 2019, Mexico surpassed China as the primary source of U.S.-bound illegal fentanyl.

Accidental opioid overdose, mostly involving fentanyl, is now the leading cause of death for people aged 18 to 45 in the United States.

‘El Super Policia’ Turns the Tide

Loaded with an M4 carbine rifle to the right of the steering wheel of his armored police vehicle, Sonora Secretary of Public Security Víctor Hugo Enríquez García had a smile of satisfaction on his face as he drove into the small town of Altar.

“About two years ago, this area was under the control of the cartels,” Enríquez García told The Epoch Times. “When we [state police] took it back from them, the operation was not even that hard for us.”

Enríquez García, who formerly worked with the intelligence division of Mexico’s Federal Police, accepted the position of secretary of public security in February 2024.

He noted that his agency and his officers have placed intelligence gathering at the forefront of their operations against the cartels. This includes monitoring and tracking enemy movements before striking. His reputation for success has earned him the nicknames of “Super Policia” and “El Cobra” from both U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officials.

Since accepting the role, Enríquez García and his men have not only liberated dozens of Sonoran towns and ranches from the cartels, but have also apprehended key figures involved in Mexican crime syndicates, according to state police officials.

“In using the intelligence approach to our operations here in Sonora, we are able to effectively build our cases before we move in to take back areas like the ranches,” he said.

“It allows us to make direct strikes against them and also creates safety for my teams on the ground.”

Traces of War

Just outside Paradise Ranch in the Sonoran Desert, a cluster of Toyota trucks sat burned and full of bullet holes.

“This ranch was truly a paradise until the cartels began to fight over it,” a state police official told The Epoch Times in Spanish.

“There was an all-out battle between rival cartels [a short time] ago.”

Among the charred shells of several pickup trucks were improvised welded armored plates, which once provided cartel drivers protection against enemy gunfire.

A tripod mount was still attached to one vehicle that once held in place a large machine gun capable of piercing armor and aircraft, according to state police officials.

“You can find .50-caliber bullet casings all over this ranch,” Enríquez García told The Epoch Times. “Though we liberated this area, they left this destruction for the family that has finally been able to return home.”

Just east of the destroyed vehicles, the housing area of Paradise Ranch was littered with bullet holes made by a variety of guns, ranging from small arms fire to heavy weaponry.

In one dark bedroom, rays of sunlight pierced through various bullet holes in the walls. Next to a dirty mattress on the floor sat a propane stove with cookware still attached that had been used by members of a cartel.

“This was a ranch that once hosted deer hunting tourism, but when the cartels pushed into the area, this ranch and others like this business all came to a close,” Enríquez García said. “These criminals have had a major effect on the economy—not only in Sonora, but all of Mexico.”

Back in the Sonora state capital of Hermosillo, signs of Mexico’s internal conflict were almost nonexistent until one man wearing a black balaclava approached the patio area of a restaurant, asked the customers questions, then hurriedly walked away. Within two minutes, a state police vehicle arrived to monitor the area and prevent any more suspected cartel activity.

“One of the slogans of the last federal administration was ‘hugs not bullets’ in regard to how the Mexican government was handling the cartels,” a former Mexican federal prosecutor, using the alias of “Pancho” for his safety, told The Epoch Times in Spanish.

He said it was during this time that cartel activity throughout Mexico “exploded,” including in Sonora, where the economy depends on mining, farming, and fishing.

One small mine in Sonora that experienced a cartel takeover lost more than $1 million per month to a crime syndicate, officials said.

Although the cartels have since been cleared out, the mines continue to be targets because of low-risk profit yields and easy extortion opportunities, according to Mexican intelligence officials.

Since 2024, Sonora state police have been able to liberate 42 ranches and two mining facilities from the cartels, and they plan to continue.

“I think progress is being made here in Sonora because security has been placed front and center,” Pancho said.

“We would like this to be an example for all of Mexico, [as Mexican] President [Claudia] Sheinbaum takes the helm of the administration.”

CBP One App

According to intelligence officials in Sonora, several policies implemented by the United States increased not only cross-border cartel activity, but also safety lapses for the Mexican people.

In January 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched the mobile application CBP One, enabling noncitizens of the United States to enter southern border ports of entry without documentation.

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