Native American chiefs reveal drug cartel gangsters' infiltration
Native American tribal leaders are pleading for more funding saying that Mexican cartels take advantage of their sparsely populated reservations to traffic fentanyl into the US.
Native American chiefs reveal THOUSANDS of drug cartel gangsters have infiltrated reservations and are using them as bases to traffic fentanyl - as they reveal the shocking number of tribal cops they have to fight them
- President of the Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana Jeffrey Stiffarm said 'the cartels are winning'
- The communities are underfunded and isolated, making them easy targets
The groups say that Mexican cartels take advantage of their sparsely populated reservations to traffic fentanyl and other drugs into the US as they do not have the police or funding to stop them.
Testifying in Congress, President of the Fort Belknap Indian Community in Montana Jeffrey Stiffarm said: 'We are fighting a losing battle. The cartels are winning, the drug dealers are winning.'
Stiffarm's 652,000-acre Montana reservation has just nine police officers, meaning the gangs can operate with impunity, he said: 'They know we’re short-staffed, underfunded, under-trained and outnumbered.'
The groups are calling for more funding, saying: 'As Congress funds billions in federal aid to foreign countries to protect its borders and to kill. Indian Country needs the funding to protect our Borders in order to save Lives.'
Mexican cartels take advantage of their sparsely populated reservations to traffic fentanyl and other drugs into the US
Indian Community President testifies on cartels infiltrating reservations
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It has long been a problem with a 2006 Department of Justice paper finding 'Mexican drug cartels have been purposefully targeting rural Native American Reservations.'
The lands are sparsely populated, far from urban hubs and underfunded - receiving little federal support for law enforcement.
In 1997, the federal government gave Fort Belknap $1.2million for law enforcement, 27 years later, in 2023, this had only increased to $1.3million.
The areas also struggle with high unemployment and poverty, which Stiffarm says makes it easy for cartels to target vulnerable residents.
He said: 'They’re preying on our people, our children, our women. They get a foothold in and they’re here.
'These Drug Cartels are specifically targeting Indian Country because of a dangerous combination of rural terrain, history of addiction, under-resourced law enforcement, legal loopholes, sparsely populated communities, and exorbitant profits.'
He said the cartels are well practiced at sneaking shipments past his officers, staging fake emergencies to draw law enforcement's attention and then moving the drugs across the reservation.
They mostly traffic fentanyl pills, which can be made for just 25 cents but sell for up to $100.
As well as gang-related violence and crime, the cartels' presence has contributed to soaring overdose rates.
Native American overdose death rates are over twice that of other state residents, according to Montana’s health department data, with one group declaring a state of emergency last year after there were 17 deaths in one week.
As well as gang-related violence and crime, the cartels' presence has contributed to soaring overdose rates
Stiffarm is calling for more funding to increase policing and tackle the problem
Stiffarm is calling for more funding, saying that if the government can afford to give $95million in foreign aid, they can give more to Native American communities.
A 2018 report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found that 'Federal funding for Native American programs across the government remains grossly inadequate to meet the most basic needs the federal government is obligated to provide.
'Since 2003, funding for Native American programs has mostly remained flat, and in the few cases where there have been increases, they have barely kept up with inflation or have actually resulted in decreased spending power.'
Stiffarm said: 'I put the blame on the drug and cartel crisis squarely on the shoulders of the Federal Government.
'The FBI doesn't do anything on the reservation unless we have a death or serious crime. The government knew that cartels were moving onto the reservations but did nothing.'
