Josh Jacobson, founder of the Tucson Crime Free Coalition, stated that Mexican drug cartels charge migrants $6,000 to attempt crossing the border. If successful but unable to pay, migrants must repay the debt by smuggling drugs or participating in human or sex trafficking. Jacobson made this statement in a documentary titled "What's Behind the Border Crisis," shared and hosted by Steve Cortes in a May 30 post on X.
"People need to understand the relationship between the cartels, the movement of people, and the way that they're able to fund the drug trafficking industries," said Jacobson, Founder of Tucson Crime Free Coalition. "When you're trafficking folks that want to come to this country for whatever reason, the cartel is gonna charge them $6,000 for three tries to cross the border."
According to Police1, Mexican cartels' influence and operations have spread globally, engaging in drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking. Cartel members bribe officials and infiltrate law enforcement, enabling long-term influence and control. The Sinaloa Cartel and Cártel Jalisco Nuevo Generación (CJNG) have established networks across the U.S. Investigations have revealed money laundering schemes and drug trafficking networks, demonstrating the cartels' impact on U.S. communities.
Screenshot of Post on X
| https://x.com/CortesSteve/status
Jacobson reiterated that migrants must pay the cartels to cross the border during his interview with Cortes. "If you’re a guy and you don’t have that money, you’re putting on a backpack and you’re muling drugs across the border," he said. "If you’re a woman, you have a different opportunity to work it off when you get across to this side." He added that the cartels use profits from smuggling operations to further their drug and sex trafficking networks.
The 2024 Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) National Drug Threat Assessment names fentanyl as the deadliest drug in American history, taking the lives of 38,000 Americans in the first six months of 2023. The Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels have enabled fentanyl's presence in all 50 U.S. states by producing it in Mexico and smuggling it into the United States for profit. The Sinaloa Cartel has partnered with Chinese chemical suppliers for synthetic drug production and Chinese money laundering organizations to return profits to Mexico.
According to its website, the Tucson Crime Free Coalition is a non-profit organization supporting law enforcement and assisting those affected by crimes in Tucson. "Tucson and Pima County are Ground Zero of the opioid epidemic," reads a statement on their website. Josh Jacobson is identified as the founder of this coalition.
