Just across the Texas border, in cities like Reynosa and Nuevo Laredo, criminal networks are strengthening their hold on drug routes despite increased enforcement efforts by the United States and Mexico.
Rather than rely on individual smugglers crossing unmanned sections of the border, cartels specializing in fentanyl and other synthetic drugs use legal ports of entry, commercial vehicles, and digital payment systems to move drugs and launder profits with less risk, according to federal drug enforcement data and Texas Observer interviews with experts on cartel operations.
The tactics may be more modern, but the result is the same. Criminal networks are adapting faster than government policy. The drug war is less centered on tunnels or border fences and more on encrypted communication, synthetic chemicals, and financial systems that remain poorly regulated. Despite billions spent on enforcement, U.S. efforts often fail to match the pace of complexity of the trade, Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, co-director of the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) at George Mason University told the Observer.
