Two Tribes: Tohono O'odham lands used to traffic illegal immigrants, drugs; Blackfoot tribe in Montana flooded with fentanyl

SASABE, AZ - In a February 10 special report, a team from NBC News explored the flood of cartel-supplied fentanyl and methamphetamines that are exploding throughout the Blackfoot Reservation in Montana, overwhelming the extremely limited tribal and federal law enforcement.

Meanwhile, over 1,200 miles away on the lands of another Native American tribe: the Tohono O'odham, the disconnect between the tribal, state, and federal governments has provided a 'fast lane' for cartels to conduct drug and human smuggling.

The detailed report released by NBC News follows the journey of drugs, money and weapons from the Mexican hinterlands to the distant mountains of the "last best place," in America: Montana. Here, cartel traffickers have forged a makeshift empire on reservation lands establishing their trade in areas where the designer drugs can fetch top dollar compared to cities where they are more available.

Montana State Rep. Marvin Weatherwax Jr. of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council told the outlet, "Right now it’s as if fentanyl is raining on our reservation."

When a crackdown by Montana authorities began, many were stunned to discover the drug enterprise tied to Mexico through the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation cartel, or CJNG. Jesse Laslovich, the U.S. attorney for Montana tasked with oversight of the investigations said, "People are surprised. You’re as far north as you can get in the United States, and yet we have the cartel here."

At the same time, across the country where the CJNG and Sinaloa are more commonly encountered by law enforcement, the Arizona Republic reported that families have been fleeing the border town of Sasabe, Sonora, Mexico in the wake of escalating cartel violence and flooding into the Tucson sector of the border.

It's on the lands of another tribe, lacking any kind of meaningful border wall that the epicenter of human and drug smuggling has formed. A startling November report from Bloomberg even detailed how young Americans are being duped on Snapchat, Tiktok and WhatsApp into being recruited by cartel-backed smugglers to transport illegal immigrants from the Tohono O'odham reservation into the country with the prospect of making "a few thousand dollars for a couple of hours’ work."

Art del Cueto, National Vice President of the National Border Patrol Council and advisory board member for LET, said, "There continues to be record number of entries and gottaways on the Tohono O’Odham Nation. The cartels are very much aware that as long as the media concentrates on other areas of the border, they will continue to have free roam in areas of the reservation. Members of the Tohono O’Odham nation need to have a more vocal and active role in the border crisis, similar to what you see with other leadership in parts of Texas."

As recently as October, Tucson.com reported that many of these residents from Sasabe in addition to human traffickers are specifically targeting Tohono O'odham lands to make the crossing. Tribal Chairman Verlon Jose said in a statement to the Arizona Daily Star that over 2,500 illegal immigrants were apprehended at the Miguel gate, a tribal crossing used by tribe members to access their ancestral lands bisected by the border.

Mark Evans, Pima County spokesman, told the outlet that county authorities captured about 2,600 illegal immigrants the same weekend bringing the total number of Mexican nationals in their custody to 3,200. “But we’re gearing up for another 800, 900 or more (illegal immigrant releases) a day,” Evans said. “Those are the kind of numbers we were seeing at end of September and early October when we were in crisis.”

A spokesman from Customs and Border Protection told them, "Callous smugglers continue to move migrants through some of the more inaccessible and arduous terrain along the southern border, migrants will be forced to walk for miles, often with little or no water."

"We remain vigilant and continue to adjust our operational plans to maximize enforcement efforts against those noncitizens who do not use lawful pathways or processes," the spokesman said. "Those who fail to use one of the many lawful pathways we have expanded will be presumed ineligible for asylum and, if they do not have a basis to remain, will be subject to prompt removal, a minimum five-year bar on admission, and potential criminal prosecution for unlawful reentry."
 

Dora Rodriguez of Casa de la Esperanza, a resource center for illegal immigrants, said that with the crossing at Sasabe overwhelmed and CBP closing border wall gaps in the area cartel traffickers have shifted west, onto tribal land where the border fence is little more than a low vehicle barrier. 

"The new cartel is probably moving people in that area (near San Miguel) because right now they don't have any choice," she told the Star.

Chairman Jose of the Tohono O'odham told reporters that tribal leaders have been on site at the San Miguel gate to catalog the damage being done by large number of illegals crossing the border. While the tribe continues to oppose the construction of a meaningful border wall, Jose did call upon the Biden Administration to act.  

"In order to stop these situations from happening again, we need comprehensive immigration reform that address the root causes of migration and border security challenges," Jose said. "The environmental and related impacts of these events to the Nation are extraordinary. Until federal leaders get their act together, the Nation and other border communities will continue to pay the price."