Wave of Smugglers from Yankee Land
And, a Multi-County Taskforce Forming
Good Morning friends,
Lots of news to share today— as the headline says, Kinney County deputies saw an increase in out-of-state smugglers this week, mostly from the New Jersey area. We’re calling it “Yankee Land” because we figured that’d yank some chains and maybe grab a couple of eyeballs.
Here’s a news release that’ll be appearing in the Kinney County Post about that:
A new wave of human smugglers are washing up on the shores of Kinney County. Deputies report that over the course of the last week, they've been finding many accused traffickers from the far Northeastern reaches of the United States, lured to the border area by the promise of easy money, moving illegal aliens.
"We are seeing a lot of traffic from the Bronx and New Jersey, lately. They've been kind of swarming us," said Chief Deputy Armando Garcia. Over the weekend, deputies logged 10 vehicles seized and at least 12 loads of illegal aliens intercepted and either arrested for trespassing or turned over to Border Patrol.
In perhaps the most notable case, they discovered 10 aliens stuffed into a small box trailer with New Jersey license plates.
Deputies also found a large variety of various drugs in large personal use amounts in many of the busts, leading to speculation that some of the smugglers may be getting partially paid in narcotics.
Authorities also seized a high-end model AR-15 that was chambered to shoot .22 caliber rounds and a variety of handguns.
—Text from a news release sent to the Kinney County Post this Week
Perhaps a bigger story this morning— something we’ve been hinting at for a couple of newsletters now, highlighting the Governor’s recent advice that local counties should band together:
Charlotte Cuthbertson filed the following yesterday in the Epoch Times— detailing how a multi-county task force has come together and will be working the highways and ranches in Kinney County.
After meeting with the sheriffs and other law enforcement officers on Feb. 2, Coe said he was overwhelmed with the support from other places, including Gonzales, Wilson, Wharton, Refugio, Kingsville, Nixon, and Goliad.
“They saw the need. They know that what’s affecting us today will affect them tomorrow. And that’s what it’s all about,” Coe told The Epoch Times.
Just days earlier, Coe had said, “Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one that’s fighting this battle.”
Counties offered to lend Kinney County a command trailer, an intel analyst, deputies, and more.
“It’s just like any war, you try to gain control of this spot and then you take it down to the border, regaining control of the border area,” Coe said.
“Once we gain control of that, well the interior can take care of itself. But it all starts at the border. With a little bit of interdiction, a little bit of time, a little effort, a little money, we can push it elsewhere. That’s the ultimate goal—keep it out of Kinney County and then we’ll go from there.”
Goliad Sheriff Roy Boyd was instrumental in bringing law enforcement together in Kinney County and plans to help with any ongoing operations.
Goliad sits 200 miles north of the U.S.–Mexico border, within the corridor to Houston, and Boyd monitors more than a dozen cartel sites within his county.
He and several other sheriffs and police chiefs drove four hours southwest to Kinney County on Feb. 2.
“Before Brad [Coe] even sent out the letter we’d already been talking about going to help him, because we know he’s overrun,” Boyd told The Epoch Times. “And part of that, to be quite honest, some of that is our own doing.”
In March 2022, Boyd put together a 20-agency task force to dismantle the cartel-run operations in his area that runs from the Rio Grande Valley up to Houston. He said the cartels would smuggle at least 25,000 illegal immigrants through his county per year.
The success in his region pushed cartel operations further west and into Kinney County.
“There were two main groups under the same organization. And in one week, we took down both of those groups,” Boyd said. ” They were in charge of all major smuggling operations, they worked for multiple cartels. And they were also the taxing entities for the cartels.”
—Charlotte Cuthbertson, Reporting in the Epoch Times
Rereading Ms. Cuthbertson’s article, there’s an element in the reporting that’s escaped our notice— and may be the biggest overlooked piece of news we’ve come across so far this year, as she relates a statement by Sheriff Boyd, from Goliad County:
He also said the prosecution side of the equation is often the weak link, but a federal prosecutor in Corpus Christi is now taking charges on all of the smuggling cases on the federal side, “which they haven’t historically done.”
—Charlotte Cuthbertson, Reporting in the Epoch Times
If we’re reading that correctly, a federal prosecutor in Corpus Christi is accepting cases filed by Sheriff’s Deputies. That’s huge. The difference in the judicial resources available to a prosecutor and federal court system like that, when compared to what we’ve been witnessing elsewhere is just tremendous.
And finally this morning, just some random tidbits we’ve come across.
We’ve not been watching closely, but we hear Galveston County Constable Jimmy Fullen is planning a run for Sheriff. Fullen, fellow Constable Justin West, and current Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset have been stalwart in sending support to Kinney County for months now.
We’re told Trochesset plans to retire when his current term is up.
For whatever it’s worth, Constable Fullen has the Dispatch’s full and complete endorsement. Some may argue that it’s a waste of Galveston County taxpayers’ money, for them to send personnel to the border. But, it could also be said that’s a shortsighted argument that fails to take into account the unique circumstances created by the current crisis.
By recognizing the moment and acting, Constable Fullen and his fellows in Galveston demonstrate an agility of thought, patriotism, and let’s call it a “gallant recognition of need” in this time and place.
The level of energy and effort brought to bear on this crisis as the “Galveston Crew” has come to be known in Kinney County cannot be overstated.
We’ve been lucky enough to catch a lunch or two with Constable Fullen while at the local barbecue restaurant. If Kinney County wasn’t already well served, we’d want to lobby the man to move here.
“Your wife and kids love the beach? That’s great! Lake Amistad is just a short hop away. Seafood and Gumbo? Try the Nopales and Steak!”
Our imagined conversation is much more persuasive in our heads.
We hope good fortune awaits the Constable and his supporters in the upcoming election— they’ve plenty of time to prepare and fundraise.
Sheriff Trochesset’s term ends in 2025.
On a personal note, we are awaiting the arrival of a new home PC. The hard drive on our 10-year veteran desktop is giving up the ghost, frequently refusing even to successfully boot up most of the time.
A few friends have suggested that we enable paid subscriptions, and start a givesendgo or a gofundme. Their confidence in the potential value of the newsletter is touching, but at this time it just doesn’t feel appropriate somehow. We may do it, if and when we are no longer employed at the county, and wish to broaden our efforts with coverage and travel to other areas of the border. But for now, things will remain as they are.
On that note, our customary disclaimer and wrapup— this newsletter is an independent production, kept as separate as possible from our efforts at our day job with Kinney County.
No one should mistake it for any sort of an official communication. Indeed, any errors, mistakes, or other misdeeds are entirely our own.
Have a great day— we’ll see you again soon.