Violent cartel members have threatened US tourists in Mexico in an effort to send a warning to FBI Director Kash Patel as the administration continues to crack down on drug and weapons trades.
Extraordinary banners have been erected in Baja California responding to recent raids and weapons seizures conducted by the FBI.
The messages claim that starting Sunday, cartel gunmen from the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa cartel will begin targeting US citizens who are in Mexico with violence.
In particular, tourists and Americans living in Cabo San Lucas and San Jose have been warned they will be targeted.
Written in Spanish, the warnings state: ‘You will be the ones to blame. We’ll show how we’ll make this war starting 5/10/2025 on all Americans residing in areas where we have a presence… especially those living in San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas.
‘We are the ones who rule here and we’ll demonstrate what we are capable of if you don’t stop arresting our people and decommissioning our loads and weapons.’
Cartels are known to hang ‘narco banners’ from bridges and overpasses in an effort to deliver a message to governments or their rivals.
But Christian Agúndez Gómez, mayor of San Jose del Cabo maintained there is no credible proof of the existence of the banners.
‘It’s not true,’ he said. ‘We have investigated the information and determined the banners were never placed.’
He added: ‘There are necessary investigations that are still ongoing. We will monitor results issued by the attorney general.
‘Unfortunately, social media sometimes plays a role against people’s peace of mind, that’s why it’s important to verify the information with official sources before distributing it.’
Local news sources railed against the mayor’s comments, maintaining they had received images of the banners from multiple sources, according to Border Report.
The banners were specifically addressed to Patel and Terry Cole, director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Mexico’s attorney general in Baja California Sur said there were instances in which banners had been falsely placed to spread fear in the community, despite having no known gang or cartel links.
The Trump administration earlier this month declared the United States is in an ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels amid recent strikes on boats in the Carribean trying to cross into US waters.
‘The President determined that the United States is in a non-international armed conflict with these designated terrorist organizations,’ a memo seen by AP states.
Hellbound and Down 