The violent Northeast Mexican Cartel (Cártel del Noreste/CDN) which controls “the plaza” (cartel territory & criminal activity) along both sides of the border from Laredo and Tamaulipas, Mexic into Southwest Texas, appears to be probing the Laredo Border Patrol Sector through a series of human smuggling attempts stretching back as far as April that have so far led to the apprehension of more than 130 migrants.
Although the numbers are nowhere as large as those encountered there during the Biden Administration, repeated attempts to move groups of migrants from Mexico into Texas suggest that the CDN may be challenging the increased security the Trump administration has since implemented.
Here’s a rundown of recent cartel human-smuggling groups apprehended in the Laredo Border Patrol Sector, as publicly acknowledged by US Customs & Border Protection (CBP):
On April 30, 2026, the Border Patrol reported discovering 20 migrants from three different countries hiding in the sleeper compartment of the cab of a semi-truck that attempted to pass through an Interstate 35 checkpoint north of Laredo.
On June 9, 2026, Laredo Sector Border Patrol Agents along with Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Officers raided a suspected cartel “stash house” and found 41 migrants who had been illegally brought across the border and were awaiting cartel transportation deeper into the interior of the United States.
On June 11, 2026, Laredo Sector Border Patrol Agents stopped a suspicious pick-up truck near Cotulla, Texas, and discovered 13 migrants (including children) hidden beneath a bed cover.
On August 14, 2026, when the daily high temperature was recorded over 100 degrees, Laredo Border Patrol Sector Agents discovered 22 migrants hidden in the floor of a flatbed trailer they stopped - likely preventing a “mass casualty” event. Two US citizens towing the trailer in this cartel scheme were taken into federal custody.
Two days later, on August 16, 2026, a US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) drone aircraft patrolling the Laredo Sector spotted a group of 16 migrants moving north from the Rio Grande to reach an agreed-upon “pick-up point” to link up with smugglers to transport them deeper into the state. CBP helicopters and Border Patrol Agents spent several hours searching their remote location before intercepting them before that happened.
Although year-to-year encounters in the Laredo Sector are down 9.7%, these recent group arrests may indicate a new trend emerging in that sector. We don’t have access to short-term granular data to confirm this, however.
Meanwhile, the Mexican Cartels may also be probing the neighboring Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector just south of the Laredo Sector.
On Friday, August 21, 2026, a group of 20 migrants in a trailer being driven north by a semi-truck tractor driver/smuggler was intercepted by US Agents in the Edinburg/Hidalgo County area.
Are you surprised the cartels are still attempting to smuggle large groups of migrants across the border?
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