A high-ranking Sinaloa cartel leader admitted that President Donald Trump’s strict border policies have made the illegal smuggling of drugs into the U.S. much more difficult.
An anonymous member of the Sinaloa cartel, one of the world’s largest and most powerful drug trafficking groups, told CNN correspondent David Culver that Trump’s crackdown on cartels has hampered their black-market business.
“Do you think what President Trump has been doing has been making your job tougher?” Culver asked the alleged gang member, who was sitting with him in an SUV wearing a black cap, dark sunglasses, and a black neck gaiter pulled over most of his face.
The cartel boss – a confessed killer and smuggler of both people and drugs – responds: “Oh yeah. Yeah.”
When asked a second time if the work is “becoming more difficult,” the alleged gang member simply replies: “Yes.”
The Sinaloa cartel is one of Mexico’s oldest – and most violent – criminal organizations. The organization, declared a foreign terrorist organization under Trump, is one of the largest producers and traffickers of fentanyl and other illegal drugs into the U.S.
The cartel’s newfound struggles have prompted the groups to charge much more to attempt getting migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the CNN report.
Border-crossers can now expect to pay $10,000 to be brought into the country. Before Trump came into office, it cost about $6,500 per person. The change has left many of the people crossing the border deeper in debt to the cartels.
At the start of his second term, Trump declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, claiming “America’s sovereignty is under attack” before deploying about 10,000 troops to the border, up from about 2,500 who were there during Joe Biden’s presidency.
Last month, Trump ordered the military to take control of federal lands along the border to deter what he deemed an “invasion” of illegal immigrants and cartel activity.
His hardline stances, including deploying thousands of troops, canceling temporary migrant protections in the US and pursuing a mass deportation campaign, have dramatically decreased the number of immigrants crossing the border.
Speaking with CNN, the cartel member noted that even though he has killed people, he still considers himself a good person.
“I did what I had to do,” he said.
The cartel member, who is not a U.S. citizen – though some Americans are members of cartels – said he was speaking out to warn others against joining drug gangs.
“It’s not a life. It’s not good,” he said, later adding in Spanish, “once you get in, you can’t get out.”
In August, the longtime leader of the Sinaloa cartel, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, pleaded guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges before apologizing for flooding the country with cocaine, heroin and other illicit drugs.
Under the leadership of Zambada and “El Chapo” Guzmán, the Sinaloa cartel evolved from a regional drug gang into the largest drug trafficking organization in the world, prosecutors said during his sentencing.
Zambada is due to be sentenced on January 13, 2026, to life in prison. He also faces billions of dollars in financial penalties.
Guzmán was sentenced to life in prison in 2019.
