(StraightNews.org) – Border Patrol agents in Blythe, California, seized a cache of semi-automatic weapons concealed in a truck occupied by an American and his 17-year-old brother. Agents uncovered 25 AK-style rifles, ammunition, and two handguns and arrested Jose Palma Almendariz and his teenage brother, both of whom now face federal charges.
Yuma Sector Chief Patrol agent Sean McGoffin said transnational criminal networks transport weapons for gang use on both sides of the border, adding that the seizure “clearly demonstrates the importance of our Border Security mission.”
Officers from the Coachella Valley Violent Crime Gang Task Force helped Border Patrol with the significant weapons find, and said they believe the brothers collected the cache from Phoenix, Arizona, for drop off in Mexico.
Blythe, California, is located 100 miles from Sonora, known for heavy cartel activity and where search parties recently found several clandestine graveyards. Ten bodies were located in a remote area known as La Comaya, south of the Mexican city of Nogales in Sonora. La Comaya is around 10 miles from the Arizona border and was the scene of a separate gruesome discovery just a month earlier.
On that occasion, almost two dozen bodies were uncovered in shallow graves, some with horrific injuries, including dismemberment and burning.
The state of Sonora is understood as cartel country and is the frequent backdrop to violent internal disputes and clashes with the rival Juarez cartel. Private detective Jay Armes III, who has decades of experience with the networks, described how they operate and why they are so harmful.
Armes acknowledges Sonora as a hot spot and says the cartels are ruthless and willing to kill countless people without thought or hesitation. He noted that even tourists are at risk because they may visit the same bar or restaurant as a wanted cartel member. If a rival spots a rival, no matter where they are, bullets will likely fly.
“They don’t talk to you, they don’t question you, they just gun you down,” Armes said.
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