[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 13, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H1107]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               LOS ZETAS

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, over the weekend, I went to the Texas-
Mexico border near Laredo.
  On this, my 20th border trip, I spent time along the river with the 
Border Patrol. Los Zetas Mexican drug cartel controls a sophisticated 
smuggling operation of people and drugs. They have scouts on rooftops 
on both sides of the border, using cell phones and high-tech equipment 
to look for the Border Patrol.
  Everyone pays to be smuggled across the Rio Grande. The cost is $500 
to $800 for a Mexican; $3,000 to $5,000 for a Central American; and 
$15,000 to $30,000 for Chinese or countries of special interest, like 
Bangladesh. Everybody pays.
  This organized crime gang uses stash houses on both sides of the 
border to conceal border crossers or drugs. When the coast is clear, 
Los Zetas moves people or drugs further into Texas, and then throughout 
the country. This is a very sophisticated criminal network.
  Mr. Speaker, the outlaw Los Zetas cartel makes millions of dollars on 
our unsecured border. Enough with the rhetoric. Secure America first.
  And that is just the way it is.

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