In a moment that should send shockwaves through the open borders establishment, an alleged second figure tied to the brutal Sinaloa Cartel confirmed: President Donald Trump’s aggressive border and anti-smuggling strategy is working — and the cartels are feeling the heat.
In a revealing new report from CNN, a senior leader of the Sinaloa Cartel sat down with journalist David Culver for a rare interview. Hidden behind layers of anonymity — black mask, sunglasses, gloves, and hat — the confessed killer and trafficker revealed how Trump’s policy shift has impacted one of the world’s most dangerous criminal organizations.
Asked point-blank if President Trump’s actions have made business more difficult for drug cartels, the man responded without hesitation, “Oh yeah. Yeah.” When pressed, he repeated, “Yes.”
CNN’s reporting also revealed that cartels are jacking up prices to smuggle migrants into the United States because of Trump’s crackdown. What used to cost $6,500 now runs close to $10,000 per person, pricing many migrants out of the black market border business. Those who can’t afford the fee? They’re often forced into debt bondage, working for the cartels to pay off what they owe.
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It doesn’t stop there. The masked figure revealed how cartels are increasingly turning to American teenagers on social media — recruiting young, impressionable American citizens into their operations as transporters and lookouts. As Trump’s administration deploys more resources to border enforcement, the cartels are shifting tactics, growing more desperate, and scraping the bottom of the barrel to keep operations running.
Mexican drug cartels are using social media to recruit American teens into their operations. David Culver investigates. pic.twitter.com/1Kg3EHuoaQ
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) September 30, 2025
This latest cartel admission comes just weeks after Margarito “Jay” Flores Jr., the former top U.S. distributor for the Sinaloa Cartel under El Chapo, praised Trump’s war on cartels in a separate interview.
Flores, who helped federal authorities take down El Chapo and whose face remains blurred for his safety, said, “I believe that the Trump administration is doing a great job … I don’t believe that the Chapo faction or the Mayo Zambada faction will last another year.”
Flores noted that more arrests and prosecutions have occurred in the last year than in the previous 25, emphasizing that the Trump administration’s approach isn’t just noise — it’s action. He predicted the collapse of major criminal networks, such as CJNG, if this level of pressure continues. “By the time the president’s term is over, the landscape of Mexico and the drug cartels is going to look very, very different,” Flores concluded.
Trump’s recent move to deploy the U.S. military for anti-cartel operations, treating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, marks an unprecedented escalation in America’s fight against these criminal syndicates. And the message from inside the enemy’s camp is clear: It’s working.
In contrast to the permissive border policies of the Biden years — which saw record crossings, fentanyl floods, and a cartel boom — Trump’s return to law and order is forcing the cartels to adapt, pay more, and ultimately lose control.
The Sinaloa Cartel leader’s clearest message was simple: Trump is hurting the cartels. And they know it.