During the Biden administration, federal authorities had their hands tied in the way they could go after and prosecute members of terrorist cartels, said Aaron Reitz, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. Reitz explained at a press conference near the Texas-Mexico border that the Trump administration’s Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation is allowing the government to take back control of the border.
“The cartels functionally controlled, through a campaign of assassination, terror, rape, trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, and smuggling, all egress and ingress of our southern border,” Reitz said.
When Trump designated certain drug cartels as FTOs, it unlocked a powerful tool for the U.S. Department of Justice in going after its members.
“Because it now provides my office, along with our federal partners, the ability to smoke out, hunt down, and bring to justice some of the most evil people and organizations on the planet,” the new U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas explained.
One example of using those tools dealt with the arrest and prosecution of 21-year-old Jose Angel Flores Flores, a member of the Metros faction of the Gulf Cartel. As Breitbart Texas reported, U.S. Border Patrol arrested Flores earlier this year after he had crossed illegally from Reynosa, into Mission, Texas.
Following that arrest, Flores gave authorities false information, claiming to be a minor. However, authorities had previously encountered him in January 2025 and deported him at the time. During a follow-up investigation, agents tied him to the Gulf Cartel and found a phone with photographs and videos of Flores dismembering or incinerating bodies and posing with weapons.
According to Reitz, Flores admitted to being a “sicario” for the Gulf Cartel and being the one they called when they needed a body disposed of. With the new evidence, federal prosecutors were able to secure a criminal indictment charging him with two terrorism related charges in addition to the immigration charge.
Reitz revealed that if it wasn’t for the FTO designation, Flores would have only been charged with a low-level illegal re-entry charge and be deported to Mexico after a short sentence, There, he could have resumed his terrorist activities. Now that prosecutors were able to charge him as a foreign terrorist, he is looking at a 20-year-sentence if convicted.
When asked by Breitbart Texas if similar charges are expected to be brought against other cartel members, including lookouts, drug mules, money launderers, foreign politicians, hitmen, and various other roles, he responded, “Absolutely. This is a message to anyone screwing around with the cartels — you got a big thing coming.”
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.