Exposing Cartels’ Smuggling Routes Along US Southern Border – Soldier of Fortune Magazine

by Heath Hansen

Tim Foley is the founder and leader of Arizona Border Recon (AZBR), a private group that patrols the southern U.S. border. Members gather intelligence on activity there and share their findings with federal and local officials. Much of what they encounter involves human trafficking and drug trafficking. According to Foley, the activity has been increasing recently. I join him as he collects the cameras he has set up along about two miles of trails northwest of Nogales, Mexico (see video below). Foley gives us insight into what’s happening at the border and shows us some of the smuggling routes he monitors.

Soldier of Fortune / Hansen: What have you seen lately on your travels south?

Foley: It’s still a wide open border. Groups of 20 are on camera trying to escape, and drugs are being pushed further east, right on the edge of our (AO). Cartel members are fighting over real estate, and they’re fighting each other. They want to control this sector; they want to collect the profits from every illegal that crosses this area.

READ MORE from Heath Hansen: Wilderness Tracking in Arizona: A Mission Along the Border

Soldier of Fortune / Hansen: From my previous trips here I have learned that Sinaloa owns this territory. Is this fighting between different groups within the Cartel? In the 80s, to this day, there are “sets” within the Bloods and Crips that fight each other, even though they are in the same gang. Is this essentially what is happening in the Sinaloa Cartel today?

Foley: Yeah, it’s just different factions of Sinaloa fighting among themselves. Sinaloa has five or six camps: Chapos, Chapitos, Las Cazadores, and two or three others that I can’t remember at the moment. Some are linked to Chapo’s kid, and the others are linked to El Mayo. Both believe that they should be in charge.

These cells are fighting for the rights to the smuggling routes in our AO. They are at war right now, and this war has been going on since October 2023.

Soldier of Fortune / Hansen: In my previous articles I have written about the Baby’s Head gap. Is this where they fight for control?

Foley: They’re fighting along a 20-mile stretch of the border, and Baby’s Head is a prime spot for smuggling. So yeah, that’s a major hot spot.

READ MORE from Heath Hansen: On ‘OP Baby’s Head’: Water for the Cartels, Crossing Mules, and a Skull in the Badlands

As Foley and I make our way through the dense undergrowth caused by recent monsoon rains, we come across a supply drop. The supply drop consists of several blue crates, filled with water jugs, and five-gallon buckets full of Vienna sausages and Nature Valley granola bars. These supply caches are regularly replenished by local activists.

Soldier of Fortune / Hansen: You’re a veteran of the US Army, right? What kind of weapons are these guys carrying? Are we talking pistols, shotguns, hunting rifles? Or are they carrying military gear?

Foley: I was in the 82nd Airborne Division for a while and I know what different weapons sound like. We’ve been on the front lines and heard some of the fighting. The cartels have every type of weapon from M4s, AKs, .50 cals, and RPK belt-fed machine guns.

We woke up at 6 in the morning and they were going at it with a .50 cal machine gun, and the response was RPK for half a minute. We sit on hilltops and see which side has what type of weaponry.

The US Border Patrol seized this .50 cal ammunition along the southern US border. This ammunition is used in American heavy machine guns.

Soldier of Fortune / Hansen: We know you have sources on the ground, both in government and with citizens. But do you also get information from other sources?

Foley: Social media is a great source of intel. These guys love to post videos. From human and drug trafficking to capturing and beheading their rivals.

They recently posted three videos of this area – I couldn’t even count the bodies because there were so many pieces on the ground. There were at least five dead; I could count five heads. Then I heard someone groaning.

I saw a man who was missing his legs below the knees and his arms below the elbows. He was still alive when they started hacking at his neck with a blunt machete. At that point, all I could hear was cutting and gurgling.

This is all happening right across the border, within a mile or so. I call it the DMZ; it’s kind of the dividing line that the cartels are fighting over.

After a few hours, Foley and I are done collecting cameras and walking other smuggling routes. We return to Foley’s office, where he uploads the trail-cam videos to his computer. The footage shows several groups of camouflaged men carrying large bundles on their backs.

Video screenshot

Foley: Based on the orientation of the cameras, it’s clear that the smugglers are heading north, deeper into the United States. We know this is dope because of the size of the packs, the size of the groups, and the way they carry the packs.

The drug packages are loaded onto the backs of the mules by the bucket load and every cubic inch of the bags is used.

One of the groups does not carry water, indicating that they are dropping off their backpacks somewhere nearby and are more concerned about their mobility.

Video screenshot

The group carrying the water is likely taking their cargo deeper into the US and needs the water to complete the journey successfully.

It’s hard to see, but some of the boys wear red shoes, which is a clear sign that they are members of Sinaloa.

Soldier of Fortune / Hansen: This information is not what the average American usually hears about the US southern border. Thank you for taking the time to speak with Soldier of Fortune Magazine and show us various smuggling routes in this AO. Stay safe out there, Tim!

Editor’s Note: According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Sinaloa Cartel is one of the most powerful drug cartels in the world and is largely responsible for the production and importation of fentanyl for distribution in the United States.