US citizens are being used as ‘couriers’ for fentanyl

By TJ Wilham

Click here for updates on this story

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — The majority of people caught with fentanyl at the southern border are U.S. citizens, new data obtained by a policy institute shows.

Here in New Mexico, the drug is being blamed for the state’s current crime crisis.

As a result, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent trying to add treatment programs.

“I see it every day,” said Raul Bujanda, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office. “And when we execute a search warrant, it’s rare that we execute a search warrant. Whether it’s a crime against a child, whether it’s a national security issue, whether it’s something you would expect, gang violence or a drug-related search, and you don’t find these drugs.”

According to experts, the cartels hire American citizens to act as drug couriers.

“They can look like you,” Bujanda said. “They can look like me. They can look like anyone they think they can make a little more profit off of.”

Bujanda says cartels are using American citizens in the hopes they won’t be stopped by Border Patrol agents

“The cartels themselves say they target specific groups of individuals and say, we think this group can be more successful in bringing drugs into the country, bringing our drugs into the market, and we’re going to go ahead and make it lucrative for them,” Bujanda said.

The Cato Institute, a public policy organization, obtained the data through the Freedom of Information Act. From 2019 to 2024, it found that more than 80 percent of people caught at the border with fentanyl were U.S. citizens.

“Ultimately, the cartels are motivated by making a profit,” Bujanda said. “You don’t really care about individuals.”

The data also shows that the amount of fentanyl seized at the border has increased in recent years. In 2023, the amount seized was more than 25,000 pounds of fentanyl. And by 2024, we will have reached half of that limit.

In total, 88% of seizures occur at border crossings, not at illegal border crossings.

“Fentanyl is a pill that is very easy to conceal, whether you are carrying it on your person or in a vehicle,” Bujanda said.

This week, Democratic Congressman Gabe Vasquez visited the border. He and Senator Martin Heinrich are trying to secure more than $5 million in federal funding to buy new technology to prevent drug smuggling.

“They’re not only using Americans as mules and drug smugglers, but they’re also using young people. People who are under 18,” Vasquez said. “So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to people who live in places like Santa Teresa, but maybe to the rest of the country who are targeting immigrants for smuggling fentanyl. It’s actually American citizens who are the majority of people smuggling fentanyl into this country.”

Republican candidate for Senator Nella Domenici says we also need to strengthen border security.

“It shows how deeply ingrained fentanyl is in America,” Domenici said. “And it’s so deeply ingrained that people are actually selling fentanyl and collaborating with cartels to help sell it.”

Please note: This content has a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.