Research has found that U.S. arrests of cartel-related crimes in Mexico soar. Mexico

According to a new report, compared with his predecessor, the arrest of crimes related to organized crime during Andrés Manuel López Obrador's 2018-24 years The number of Americans has increased by 457%, or nearly six times.

Since incumbent President Claudia Sheinbaum took office in September, 185 U.S. citizens have been arrested by the Mexican army on charges of organized crime – an average of three points a day.

According to a survey by local news website animal Político, the animal Político cited the requirements of Foia (Freedom of Information Act), open source data and interviews with local authorities, and 2,500 U.S. during the presidency of López Obrador, there were 2,500 U.S. The person was arrested for suspected drug trafficking, compared to only 449 during the last term of Enrique Peña Nieto.

The report found that over two-thirds of the nearly 4,000 foreigners arrested by federal authorities for organized crimes over the past six years.

The survey shows that Americans are increasingly becoming pawns of drug trafficking north by Mexican cartels, weapons and cash returning across the border.

“The truth is (Americans) are not recruited KillerMexican security analyst Eduardo Guerrero said he used the Gunner's term. “But the cartel has a lot of stuff in the southern United States…the war technology the cartel uses. And, for all these purchases, well, yes, it's very useful to have a gringo That's easy to get into the country. ”

Guerrero also pointed out that some of the Americans recruited by the Mexican cartel may be drug users and ended up being grateful to the cartel.

“To pay off the debt, the organization asked them to start selling,” Guerrero said. “They started with customers and consumers and ended up being employees, with no way to escape the criminal organization.”

The report gets figures from the U.S.: Of the 3,000 fentanyl trafficking crimes in the fiscal year 2023, 86% of those sentenced in the U.S. are U.S. citizens, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

“When you see cases in courts at the border, cases related to mass trafficking, these actions are actions involving citizens of Mexico and the United States,” said organized crime expert Cecilia Farfán.

Donald Trump is increasingly attacking reports of illegal drugs entering the United States in Mexico.

On his first day of office, President Trump signed an executive order delegating certain drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations.” Trump also threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all goods leaked from Mexico and Canada “due to the main threat of illegal foreigners and deadly drugs to kill our citizens.”

Trump later suspended for a month in Mexico, after President Sinbaum agreed to send another 10,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.

According to Farfán, these arrests could also indicate an increase in Mexico’s drive to prove that drug trafficking is a bisexual or trilateral issue.

“These numbers have a lot to do with the narrative of the cartel who wants to poison poor ignorant American citizens,” she said. “It's a saying, it's a business that requires actors from both sides of the border, drug trafficking , but we need to traffic in arms.”

Animal Político's report also notes that while Americans may be the most likely foreigners to commit crimes in Mexico, they are also victims of organized crime and are reportedly more than 700 U.S. Citizens disappear or disappear.

According to animal Político, 307 Americans were murdered in Mexico between 2022 and 2023, the highest of any nationality killed in the country so far.

But Americans are also recruited in large quantities to smuggle people on the border. Between July 2021 and August 2024, local government data showed that Texas authorities detained more than 1,000 U.S. citizens for smuggling personnel, with more than 70% of Americans arrested on these charges.