Cartel-connected human smugglers are using increasingly dangerous and possibly deadly tactics to avoid detection by sniffer dogs. Two approaches involve the use of chemicals and foam sealants to hide human smells in vehicle compartments.
In a recent attempt, U.S. Border Patrol agents in South Texas found migrants fully covered in lime and other cleaning products. The tactic failed. Similar attempts have been made at Texas checkpoints near Falfurrias and Sarita, approximately 80 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico Border.
Breitbart Texas spoke with Oscar Medina, a spokesman for the U.S. Border Patrol RGV Sector, who revealed the tactics greatly risk migrant health.
The chemicals have long been used to cover drug smells. But for humans, they can cause severe irritation to the skin and eyes. They can be fatal if ingested, Medina said. Authorities have also found laundry detergent and other cleaning products like Fabuloso in use.
Foam sealants compound the risks of the chemicals covering migrants. Circulation is limited and the chemical smells are unable to vent from migrant compartments as trucks pass through regions with triple-digit temperatures.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to Mexico City and the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “Ana Luna” from Tamaulipas.
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