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 Mexico and into Southwest Texas has been probing the Laredo Border Patrol Sector through a series of human smuggling attempts stretching back as far as April that have led to the apprehension of more than 130 migrants with no signs of letting up.
Although the numbers are nowhere as large as those that Agents encountered there during the Biden Administration, the fact that agents have been interrupting repeated attempts to move groups of migrants from Mexico into Texas suggests that the CDN is challenging measures the Trump Administration has implemented to increase security along the US Southern Border.
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 north of the border to destinations 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) crammed into the bed of the truck and 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 - which likely prevented a heat stroke “mass casualty” event. Two US citizens in a truck 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 attempting to reach an agreed-upon “pick-up point” to link up with CDN US-based smugglers who would transport them into the state. Before they reached that point, CBP helicopters and Border Patrol ground units spent several hours searching their remote location before finally intercepting them.
Meanwhile, the Mexican Cartels are also probing the neighboring Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector just south of the Laredo Sector. On Friday, August 21, 2026, authorities intercepted and apprehended a group of 20 migrants in a trailer being driven north by a semi-truck tractor driver/smuggler in the Edinburg/Hidalgo County area.
Are you surprised the cartels are still attempting to smuggle large groups of migrants across the border?
Share your opinions in the comments to this article.
