It turns out, the Gulf Cartel made a critical miscalculation: they thought Texas was still being run like it was under Biden. Spoiler alert—it’s not. President Trump is back in the White House, and the lawlessness fiesta that once plagued our southern border just got a hard stop. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) just seized over 134 acres of Texas land being used by the cartel near Rio Grande City, and they brought the heat with them. “We took the land and everything on it,” CBP announced with the kind of finality that makes cartel bosses reach for their panic buttons.

🚨 CARTEL PROPERTY SEIZED 🚨

Over 134 acres near Rio Grande City, TX—used by a drug cartel for smuggling—is now out of their hands. We didn't just make arrests; we took the land and everything on it.

Message to the cartels: Keep smuggling, lose it all. We’re coming for… pic.twitter.com/T3AkTLjldh

— CBP (@CBP) February 10, 2026

The land belonged to the westside faction of the Gulf Cartel, a fun-loving group known for trafficking drugs, smuggling humans, and murdering Americans. You know, the usual resume for a group that Democrats used to refer to as “misunderstood migrants.” But under Trump’s leadership, the message is clear: the United States is closed for cartel business.

The video released shows law enforcement sweeping in and rounding up suspects like it was a Black Friday sale on justice. The CBP didn’t mince words: “They thought they were untouchable. They were wrong.” And for once, government messaging sounds more like a Liam Neeson movie than a bureaucratic snoozefest.

This isn’t just a one-off operation. This is the latest chapter in a full-throttle crackdown on cartel operations. Over the past year, the Trump administration has been surgically slicing through cartel finances, logistics, and infrastructure like a hot knife through Democrat talking points. In May, two high-ranking members of the Cartel del Noreste had their assets frozen by the Treasury Department. In March, six people and seven entities tied to the Sinaloa Cartel got their bank accounts iced. And in case the cartels missed the memo, CBP added, “We are dismantling your operations from the ground up.”

Oh, and if you’re wondering what Congress is doing while Trump’s team plays whack-a-mole with narco-terrorists, Senator Mike Lee of Utah is out here resurrecting the Constitution’s forgotten power tools. He introduced the Cartel Marque and Reprisal Authorization Act, which would give private American operators the green light to go full pirate on cartel assets. That’s right—letters of marque, the kind our Founders used during the Revolutionary War, are back on the menu. You mess with Texas, you get a free history lesson and a one-way ticket to asset forfeiture.

Meanwhile, Mexico—suddenly remembering who the big dog is—just handed over 37 cartel members to U.S. authorities. It’s amazing what a little pressure from a real president can do. Back in the Biden years, we were lucky if Mexico gave us a shrug and an excuse. Now, they’re practically gift-wrapping criminals.

And let’s not forget the strategic reclassification of these cartels as global terrorist organizations by the State Department last year. This move allows the U.S. to freeze their assets, block their front companies, and cut off their financial lifelines. No more using American real estate to fund human trafficking and fentanyl distribution while Democrats wring their hands and write sternly worded letters.

CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said it best during a recent House hearing: “When we secure the border and deny illegal entry, we are not just enforcing a statute—we are bankrupting a cartel operation and protecting innocent people.” That’s the kind of clear-eyed leadership we didn’t see for four long years under Biden, where border agents were turned into babysitters and cartels were practically handed loyalty cards.

Now, with just ten months until the midterms, voters have a crystal-clear choice. Stick with the America First policies that are taking land, money, and power away from foreign terrorists—or risk going back to the policies that had cartels treating our border like a revolving door. The Trump administration is playing offense, and for the first time in a long time, the cartels are the ones running scared.