Cartel Member Tells CNN Trump Has Made His Criminal Activity ‘More Difficult’

A leader of the Sinaloa Cartel told CNN that President Donald Trump’s crackdown on criminal activity at the southern border has made their lives “more difficult” in footage released on Tuesday.

CNN senior national correspondent David Culver sat inside a vehicle with a member of the cartel, who wore a mask and sunglasses to cover his face, during his six-month coverage of the Mexican cartels and how they recruit young Americans. The cartel member told Culver that Trump’s aggressive crackdown on the cartels has made his job “tougher” and “more difficult.”

“Do you think what President Trump has been doing has been making your job tougher?” Culver asked.

“Oh yeah. Yeah,” the cartel member said.

“Yes? But it’s becoming more difficult you think?” Culver asked.

“Yep,” the cartel member answered.

WATCH:

Trump signed an executive order designating the cartels as foreign terror organizations on the day he reentered office on Jan. 20. The order aims at the “total elimination” of the cartels and other criminal organizations from abroad that “threaten the territory, safety, and security” of the U.S.

In early August, Trump authorized the U.S. military to target Latin American cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and the use of airstrikes to curtail cartel activity in the Caribbean Sea. The administration has also launched military strikes on drug-trafficking vessels carrying illegal drugs en route to the U.S. coast.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro stated on Sept. 4 that her office, along with federal agencies, seized 1,300 barrels of methamphetamine precursors shipped from Shanghai headed for the Sinaloa Cartel. As of Sunday, the Pentagon was considering plans to launch drone strikes against drug traffickers inside Venezuela.

Trump told Daily Caller White House correspondent Reagan Reese on Sept. 2 that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has rejected his offer to send in the U.S. military to combat the cartels. He stated that Sheinbaum is “very scared” of doing that given that the cartels have a significant influence in her country.