Free Republic

War Correspondent@warDaniel47·21hTHEY DIDN’T JUST KILL A DRUG LORD.THEY KILLED A DEEP STATE GENERAL.“El Mencho” was untouchable for 30 years. He had drones. Armored vehicles. Land mines. He shot down a military helicopter. The CIA looked the other way.Why?Because he wasn’t just moving drugs. He was moving children.On Sunday morning, Trump’s intelligence led Mexican Special Forces straight to his door in Tapalpa, Jalisco.He died in the helicopter. Like a dog.$15 million bounty. Collected.His son — life in prison.His daughter — arrested.His empire — burning.Right now, his soldiers are setting fire to buses in Guadalajara. They are pulling people from cars. They...

ChatGPT Article SummarySummary: Mexican Cartels Steal U.S. Rental CarsMexican drug cartels are increasingly stealing vehicles from U.S. rental agencies, transporting thousands across the border annually to supply cartel leaders with luxury cars and provide transportation for drug smuggling and armed operations. Popular targets include Cadillac Escalades, BMW SUVs, Ford Raptors, Jeep Wranglers and heavy-duty pickup trucks. Some trucks are modified with ballistic armor, gun mounts and firing ports.California is a major target, alongside Texas and Arizona. Cartel operatives use several methods, including recruiting Americans through social media to rent vehicles, exploiting rental-company procedures, and using stolen identities at rental kiosks....

Stealing from the taxpayer has now become a multi-billion-dollar industry in America - and the Trump administration is finally doing something about it. From the Department of Government Efficiency to Vice President JD Vance’s task force, the Trump administration has made combatting fraud a top priority. Here are just a few of the most astonishing fraud schemes uncovered so far. 750,000 fraudsters stealing $2.2 billion from ObamacareSince its passage in 2010, Obamacare has been a magnet for scammers, resulting in higher tax bills for Americans and higher premiums in the private insurance market. But the Trump administration is finally doing...

A new international coalition of 14 countries, the “Shield of the Americas,” has been formed to target cartels and transnational crime in the Western Hemisphere. There is “an immediate and universally shared threat in our hemisphere,” posed by “transnational narco-terrorist organizations, which endanger the peace and security of our hemisphere along with the safety, security, and prosperity of our citizens,” they said. The governments of the United States, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Trinidad and Tobago have all signed a Memorandum of Understanding to target transnational crime, the...

As if the threat of deadly drug cartels in Mexico wasn't enough, some of them are joining forces with Middle East terror groups. "Hezbollah are absolute masters at identifying existing smuggling infrastructures," says former DEA Chief of Operations Mike Braun, adding that the group "is developing relations with those responsible for operating those smuggling operations and then forming close relations with them, so that they can move anything they have an interest into virtually anywhere in the world." That comment comes from former DEA Chief of Operations Mike Braun. He goes on to tell me that the Middle East terror...

The U.S. military, in conjunction with Ecuadorian officials, boarded and later sank a vessel on Friday allegedly used as a refueling station for drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, according to U.S. Southern Command. The vessel, which was in international waters near Ecuador, was allegedly used as a floating ship-to-ship refueling station for drug boats belonging to the Los Choneros organization. The ship was boarded by Marines and sailors from the USS San Antonio and cleared without incident, SOCOM said. The people taken off the boat were then taken to Ecuador, and the U.S. sank the boat with an...

The U.S. military this week used a laser to shoot down three drones along the U.S.-Mexico border that were allegedly operated by drug cartels, the Pentagon said Thursday. The three unmanned aircraft systems were shot down late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning using an "Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser system," according to U.S. Northern Command, which is responsible for overseeing certain military defense operations in North America. The drones were downed by the U.S. military's southern border Joint Task Force, a unit of USNORTHCOM, which did not specify exactly where the drones were shot down, or which cartels they...

The damage comes as questions continue over the growing use of this surveillance technology in public spaces.

The new CA law requires automakers to provide an easy way for consumers to get the tracking on their car shut off under certain circumstances; the carmakers say they need at least a year more to do so.

Two suspects were arrested at Camp Pendleton on Thursday after an unauthorized entry to the Marine base. After abandoning their vehicle, they fled on foot, which prompted a six-hour manhunt. According to the NCIS, the situation began when the two suspects entered the base, trying to avoid local law enforcement. It was reported that they abandoned the vehicle and were on foot. Authorities enacted a temporary shelter-in-place order to keep everyone on base safe. KTLA 5 Reported: A shelter-in-place order at Camp Pendleton was lifted after two suspects who breached the Marine base during a law enforcement pursuit were arrested...

The dramatic killing of Tren de Aragua gang leader Niño Guerrero follows a stepped up operation by the Venezuelan military in a mob-linked region – in a joint operation with US forces, marking a new level of cooperation for the two former rival nations. Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Armed Forces launched major operations targeting illegal gold mining in Bolivar state Tuesday, local media reported, following a meeting by acting President Delcy Rodriguez with top military leaders. US military officials stressed the joint action with the former US rival in statements after President Trump shared video of the “swift and lethal” strike...

Donald Trump announced the killing of Tren De Aragua cartel leader Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, aka 'Nino,' in a swift and lethal kinetic strike' by US Southern Command. The President has made protecting the border and taking down criminal gangs and cartels a priority in his second term and celebrated the killing of the leader of what he called 'one of the most bloodthirsty Terrorist Organizations on Planet Earth.' 'Early in my Administration, I delivered on my promise to designate Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, deport thousands of evil criminals, and wage war against the Cartels, who...

Cops on both sides of the US-Mexico border are investigating a sprawling underground passage uncovered in the Tijuana area that is believed to extend toward the US. The tunnel was found Saturday in the Nueva Tijuana neighborhood during a raid carried out by Mexican federal authorities with support from the Mexican Navy, according to Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office. The underground route was uncovered after authorities executed a search warrant at a property in eastern Tijuana. During the operation, officers seized a variety of items, including ammunition, cell phones, bank cards, a digital video recorder and dozens of doses of methamphetamine....

Several men were caught on video entering a sewer manhole in Brooklyn and then emerging from it hours later Friday morning. Now, police are trying to determine what exactly they were doing underground. snip Police said a 911 call brought officers to the scene, but the men were gone before they arrived. Later Friday afternoon, the NYPD returned to the area to investigate. Crews from the Department of Environmental Protection were also on scene. They lowered what appeared to be a camera with a light into the manhole as they inspected the sewer system. A DEP spokesperson said they are...

A second video of sewer spelunkers emerging from a Brooklyn manhole wearing headlights and carrying shovels has surfaced — but there remain no answers on what they are doing down there. One creepy new clip shows a whole cadre of men exiting from a manhole at the intersection of Bedford Avenue and Lynch Street in Williamsburg early Friday morning, according to footage obtained by Williamsburg 360. Video shows one man wearing a headlamp emerging from the ground after pushing off the cover of the manhole – which is located in the center of the intersection. [snip] Men with flashlights and...

Seven Chinese nationals living in Massachusetts have been charged in connection with a multimillion-dollar drug-trafficking organization that allegedly grew and distributed marijuana across the U.S. Northeast. "Today, we arrested members of an alleged Chinese-run drug trafficking organization who are accused of running a massive marijuana cultivation and distribution scheme that has raked in millions and contributed widely to the illegal drug trade here in the Northeast," Ted E. Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston Division, said in a statement. The scheme allegedly involved interconnected grow houses that cultivated and distributed marijuana. Chinese nationals were also allegedly smuggled...

On January 9, 2026, Mexico enacted a new law requiring all cell phone numbers to be verifiably associated with an individual. Any cell phone number not associated with a person and their government-issued ID by June 30, 2026, will be suspended until/unless the number is registered by a verified user. If you have an active Mexican cell phone number: Whether you are situated in Mexico or abroad (or travel between countries); and Whether that number is active with a physical SIM card or a virtual eSIM; and Whether you are on a contract or a prepay phone plan; and You...

Federal agents flooded MacArthur Park on Wednesday as authorities announced a sweeping operation targeting what officials described as a notorious open-air drug market tied to fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking. The enforcement action, dubbed “Operation Free MacArthur Park,” involved federal and local law enforcement agencies serving arrest and search warrants throughout the area surrounding the park. In a statement posted Wednesday afternoon, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the operation targeted street-level drug dealers and suppliers accused of distributing “massive amounts” of fentanyl and methamphetamine. “Federal agents have taken control of MacArthur Park to execute federal arrest and search warrants...

WASHINGTON — President Trump enacted a sweeping new counterterrorism strategy aimed at crushing threats “at home and abroad,” with a heavy focus on drug cartels, Islamist terror groups and violent political extremists inside the US, a top White House official said on a press call Wednesday. Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the president, described the 16-page framework as an “America First counterterrorism” blueprint centered on protecting the homeland by aggressively dismantling threats before they reach US soil. In line with the “Donroe Doctrine,” the strategy’s first priority is the “neutralization of hemispheric terror threats” — placing cartels squarely in the...

Bone-chilling new video captures the moment a former Mexican beauty queen is gunned down in front of her baby — allegedly by her jealous mother-in-law. SNIP “Nothing,” Herrera answered. “She made me angry.” “What’s wrong with you? She’s my family,” the son responds. “You’re mine and she stole you,” his mother said. SNIP The dead woman’s mother, Reyna Gomez Molina, told Univision News that Gomez delayed reporting the incident due to concern over the couple’s young baby.