Terrell County Sheriff Thad Cleveland stated that cartels "are in every state throughout the United States." Cleveland made this statement during an interview on the podcast Texas Talks on July 8.
"So, they're everywhere," said Thaddeus Cleveland. "I mean, they are in every state throughout the United States. They truly are."
According to Cleveland, cartels are also facilitating the spread of dangerous drugs like fentanyl across the country, resulting in thousands of American deaths. "It didn't have to be just a city. It's suburbs and it's small towns," he said.
Fox News reported that most cartel-affiliated drug and drug money seizures by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 2023 occurred in border states such as Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and California. Cartel members have also been arrested in other states for the illegal sale of fentanyl; for example, Roque Bustamante, a Sinaloa cartel member, was arrested in Florida for distributing fentanyl produced in Mexico.
On the northern border, Montana has seen a rise in illegal narcotics connected to Mexican cartels, according to NBC News. Fentanyl can be sold for "20 times the price" up north compared to southern cities. Cartels often specifically target reservations in Montana for distribution and sale of trafficked drugs.
Cleveland mentioned that while many illegal migrants have assimilated into American communities and life across the country, particularly within the manual labor force, some individuals maintain criminal connections to cartels. "Some of those bad actors that are part of the cartel...are helping smuggle the drugs distributing across America," he said.
Thaddeus Cleveland has served as the Sheriff of Terrell County, Texas since 2022, according to the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement (IDGA). He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and previously served as Patrol Agent in Charge of the Sanderson Border Patrol Station for 11 years. With a total of 26 years as a Border Patrol agent, he is also a member of Coalition Against Cartels, a national effort aimed at exposing illegal cartel operations within U.S. communities.
