Mexico's Cartel Crackdown
Award-winning journalist Natashya Gutierrez goes on patrol to see if the crackdown is working. With inside access to the Mexican police, Natashya sees first-hand the methods being used to hunt down the criminals, including a rare look at the maze of tunnels used to smuggle drugs across the border.
In a town on the Mexico border, there is a display of military might on show, and ten thousand Mexican troops have been deployed to stop the production and export of fentanyl. On the US side, state of the art American armoured vehicles and drones patrol the border wall as part of President Trump's crackdown on drug and people smuggling. Tensions are high in an area controlled by the notorious Sinaloa cartel, which is under attack from both sides.
Under the threat of crippling US tariffs, Mexico's president Claudia Sheinbaum is acting forcefully, but she's also under attack for failing to combat the growing drug crisis in her own country, where communities are taking it upon themselves to operate unregulated drug rehab centres.
A Foreign Correspondent story
Duration
HD 1 x 30'
Production Company
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Genre
News & Current Affairs
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
15 hours ago
- Perth Now
‘Critical': Big AUKUS call amid Trump fears
AUKUS is 'critical' to Australia's defence, Assistant Defence Minister Peter Khalil has declared while spruiking it in Adelaide with visiting US congressmen. US representatives Joe Courtney and Trent Kelly are in Australia for the Australian American Leadership Dialogue – an annual conference aimed at highlighting the deep ties between Canberra and Washington. Both men are staunch supporters of the US-Australia alliance, including AUKUS, which the Trump administration is reviewing. Speaking to media, Mr Kelly, a Republican like Donald Trump, said the bilateral relationship was like no other. 'Our relationship with our Australian partners is one that cannot be can't be replicated,' he told reporters, standing alongside Mr Khalil and South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas. 'And so it's important that we continue to grow as friends. 'I've seen that relationship over the last two or three years as AUKUS has matured, grow stronger and better.' Republican congressman Trent Kelly says the US-Australia relationship 'can't be replicated'. Naomi Jellicoe Credit: News Corp Australia Mr Kelly was speaking from Osborne Naval Shipyard, where five nuclear-power AUKUS submarines will be built, assuming the US stays in the defence pact. More than $1.5 billion in federal funds have already been pumped into preparing to build and maintain them. Australia will also get at least three American-made Virginia-class submarines under the agreement. Mr Khalil said the Albanese government welcomed the Trump administration's review, declaring it 'brings forward the issues that are actually important for us to discuss about how we can get the best out of this partnership'. 'The AUKUS partnership is something that is historic,' he said. 'It's critical, it's important.' He went on to say the 'advanced capability that we get out of the Virginia-class and the future AUKUS submarines is extremely important'. 'We're talking about making sure that we have the ADF and the defence capability to deter and deny adversaries from impacting negatively our national interests, forcing others to come back to the negotiating table rather than using force,' Mr Khalil said. 'Investment in defence is about investment in peace.' Assistant Defence Minister Peter Khalil says AUKUS is an 'investment in peace'. Naomi Jellicoe Credit: News Corp Australia US President Donald Trump's defence policy chief Elbridge Colby announced he was delaying the AUKUS review late last month and did not give a firm date for its completion. Instead, Mr Colby, an AUKUS sceptic, said the review would be completed 'in the fall' – much longer than the initial 30 days. The delay comes as the Albanese government resists Washington's demand to hike defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP in response to China's rapid military build-up. Announcing the delay, Mr Colby's office said the AUKUS review would 'be an empirical and clear-eyed assessment of the initiative's alignment with President Trump's America First approach'. 'As part of this process, the (US Department of Defence) looks forward to continuing regular engagements on this important matter with other parts of the US government, the US Congress, our allies Australia and the United Kingdom and other key stakeholders,' his office said. 'The department anticipates completing the review in the fall. 'Its purpose will be to provide the President and his senior leadership team with a fact-based, rigorous assessment of the initiative.'
SBS Australia
15 hours ago
- SBS Australia
SBS News in Easy English 13 August 2025
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts . The leader of the Opposition says the Prime Minister is out of his depth in deciding that Australia will recognise a Palestinian state. Sussan Ley has told 2GB Radio that the Coalition's position is recognition should come at the end of a peace process with Israel. She says that's in part because of the potential damage it could do to Australia's relationship with the US. "It dismisses that relationship in an appalling way, our friends, our allies. And most importantly it is disrespectful of the relationship with the U-S. Because any peace that happens in this region will be brokered by the U.S. And the prospects of a ceasefire are not good with this decision. The prospects take a step backwards." But Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the Australian government has made a considered decision that now is the best time for Australia to contribute to the momentum for a two-state solution. She has told Sky News that recognition could also be used to isolate Hamas, who the Minister says should have no role in governing Gaza. "Success is not guaranteed, but success never comes from just doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for a different outcome. And that's the judgement countries of the world, including Australia, are making." Sudan's top diplomat to Australia is calling on the Albanese government for more assistance for the country. The Sudanese Chargé d'Affaires in Canberra, Ahmed Abdelatif, has confirmed a list of humanitarian needs has been submitted to the Australian government. It comes amid what has been described by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as the worst famine and displacement crisis in the world. Abdel Latif has told SBS Arabic the suffering of residents is acute. "Our contacts are ongoing with the Australian government, and we are providing updates on developments in Sudan and providing them with lists of needs. As far as I know, the Australian government is currently considering providing a new aid package to our affected people in El Fasher in particular and in Sudan in general." A gun has been fired at Australia's busiest airport during the arrest of a man at one of its terminals. Australian Federal Police say the police gun was fired before the man was apprehended this morning at Sydney Airport. The AFP says no-one has been injured, and there are no ongoing threats to the public. The number of people dying from drug overdoses in Victoria has reached its highest number in a decade. A report from the State Coroner has shown there were 584 fatal drug overdoses recorded in 2024, with a significant proportion involving illegal drugs like heroin, methamphetamine, and MDMA. Monash Addiction Research Centre associate professor Shalini Arunogiri says deaths can be prevented with drug checking and early-risk detection alongside rapid-access opioid treatment, but that timely access to proven medical responses are still lacking. Premier Jacinta Allan says the government is well aware of the crisis and is doing its best to confront it. "The work that Minister (Ingrid) Stitt has been leading through our statewide drug action plan is so important. We understand the need to expand drug services across the state, because this is often seen in the context of the inner city. This is a statewide challenge. I know it from my own community." The White House has played down expectations for an upcoming summit on Ukraine between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt says it will be a listening exercise for the US President, who says he will know quickly if the Russian President is willing to seek a peace deal. Mr Trump says the two sides will both need to cede land to end the bloody three and a half-year-old conflict. But Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelenskyy says his country will not do that. Experts say it could take up to 15 years for coral reefs off Western Australia to fully recover from the worst bleaching event on record for the region. The Australian Institute of Marine Science has confirmed coral mortality rates of up to 90 per cent along 1500km of the western coastline. The institute's James Gilmour says climate change is driving the increased frequency and severity of mass coral bleaching events. He says that means they don't have the time needed to bounce back in between. "Corals that have bleached, if the stress is reduced they can recover. Of course if it's very high heat stress and it goes for a long time they don't.
ABC News
16 hours ago
- ABC News
Mexico hands over 26 cartel figures to US authorities
Mexico has sent 26 high-ranking cartel figures to the United States in the latest major deal with the Trump administration. Their transfer on Tuesday, local time, came as American authorities continued to ratchet up pressure on criminal networks smuggling drugs across the border. Those handed over to US authorities included Abigael González Valencia, a leader of Los Cuinis, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Los Cuinis is closely aligned with the notorious Jalisco New Generation cartel, known more commonly as CJNG. Another person, Roberto Salazar, was wanted in connection to the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, the person said. Other defendants have ties to the Sinaloa cartel, the Los Zetas cartel and other violent drug trafficking groups. They were being flown to American soil after the US Justice Department agreed not to seek the death penalty against any of the defendants or against any cartel leaders and members transferred to the US in February, the person said. The person spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss an ongoing operation. Mexico's Attorney-General's Office and Security ministry confirmed that 26 defendants were transferred but did not identify them. Mexican security officials had planned a news conference for Wednesday, local time. It is the second time in months Mexico has expelled cartel figures accused of narcotics smuggling, murder and other crimes amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration to curb the flow of drugs across the border. In February, Mexico handed over to American authorities 29 cartel figures, including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a US Drug Enforcement Administration agent in 1985. The February transfers came days before 25 per cent tariffs on Mexican imports were due to take effect. Late last month, US President Donald Trump spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and agreed to put off threatened 30 per cent tariffs for another 90 days to allow for negotiations. Ms Sheinbaum has shown a willingness to cooperate on security more than her predecessor, specifically by pursuing Mexico's cartels more aggressively. But she has drawn a clear line when it comes to Mexico's sovereignty, rejecting suggestions by Mr Trump and others of the need for US military intervention. The Trump administration has made dismantling dangerous drug cartels a key priority, designating CJNG and seven other Latin American organised crime groups foreign terrorist organisations. Since the new designations in February, the US government has begun bringing terror charges in some cartel-related cases. Abigael González Valencia is the brother-in-law of CJNG leader Nemesio Rubén "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes, a top target of the US government. Mr Valencia was arrested in Puerto Vallarta, on Mexico's west coast, in February 2015 and had been fighting extradition to the United States since then. The US government has offered a reward of up to $US15 million ($22.9 million) for information leading to "El Mencho's" arrest or conviction. Alongside his two brothers, Mr Valencia led Los Cuinis, which financed the founding and growth of the CJNG, one of the most powerful and dangerous cartels in Mexico. CJNG traffics hundreds of tonnes of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the United States and other countries, and is known for extreme violence, murders, torture, and corruption. One of his brothers, José González Valencia, was sentenced in Washington's Federal Court in June to 30 years in a US prison after pleading guilty to international cocaine trafficking. Jose González Valencia was arrested at a beach resort in Brazil while vacationing with his family under a fake name in 2017, during the first Trump administration. AP
