Suspected members of a Mexican drug cartel were arrested this week after illegally crossing into the United States while armed with rifles and tactical gear, authorities said.
Five people suspected of being part of the Cartel Del Noreste (CDN) were taken into custody in Fronton, Texas, on Thursday by various law enforcement agencies during an operation that included the Texas Department of Public Safety, National Guard and U.S. Border Patrol.
Suspected Mexican drug cartel members armed with rifles were arrested on the Texas side of the southern border this week, authorities said. (Texas DPS)
Two of them were armed with rifles. They also had several juveniles with them.
Mexican drug cartels have become more brazen in recent years with their activities near the southern border.
In May, Mexico said it had arrested a top lieutenant of the violent Metros faction of the Gulf drug cartel implicated in 23 attacks on police and nine against military personnel.
The suspect was identified as Hugo Salinas Cortinas, whose nickname “La Cabra” means “The Goat.”
Authorities said juveniles with with the suspected cartel members. (Texas DPS)
He was arrested near the border. Mexican authorities said he was caught with two guns and 600 pills, apparently fentanyl.
Also in May, feuding cartels blocked roads in the border city of Matamoros, across from Brownsville, Texas. At one point, gunmen forced middle-school students off a school bus and used the vehicle as a blockade.
A suspected Mexican cartel member moves through brush on Fronton, Texas. (Texas DPS)
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Matamoros has long been dominated by the Gulf cartel, but it has splintered into warring factions, one of which is reportedly allied with the Jalisco cartel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
