Tulsi Gabbard Details How Trump Is Intimidating Mexican Cartels Following Arrest of Drug Lord
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence (DNI), praised the trump governanceS recent arrest of Leonardo Daniel “El Pato” Martinez Vera, a high-ranking leader of the Sinaloa Cartel involved in serious crimes like kidnapping and murder. she emphasized that the arrest, enabled by intelligence from the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), demonstrates President Trump’s seriousness in combating cartel violence and drug trafficking. Gabbard highlighted that despite government shutdown challenges, intelligence teams worked tirelessly to bring El Pato to justice, signaling that cartel leaders who try to use bribery or other tactics will be targeted.
The U.S. State Department has designated the Sinaloa Cartel and other major Latin American crime syndicates as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Since President Trump began his second term,illegal border crossings have significantly decreased compared to the previous administration. Even Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker acknowledged improvements at the border under Trump’s leadership.
This operation and broader efforts reflect the administration’s commitment to stopping cartel gangs from operating freely in the U.S. and across the border with Mexico. Simultaneously occurring, nearly all Senate Democrats recently voted to block a bill that would have provided pay for some federal workers and service members during the ongoing government shutdown.
Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard noted during a Saturday morning Fox News interview that the recent capture of a notorious Mexican drug cartel boss by President Donald Trump’s administration shows Trump’s “seriousness” and that he is “not messing around” on the issue.
Gabbard’s office announced Tuesday the Oct. 15 arrest of Sinaloa Cartel Plaza Boss Leonardo Daniel “El Pato” Martinez Vera, who allegedly led an operation which took part in a range of crimes including kidnapping and murder.
“Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host Griff Jenkins asked Gabbard if El Pato’s arrest — made possible due to intelligence collected by the ODNI’s National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) — sends a message to “the plaza bosses who have run our southern border under the Biden administration.”
“Yes, it’s very significant. This operation — I would love to tell you about how it was carried out,” Gabbard answered.
“Because our folks, who are working now without pay because of the Democrats’ government shutdown, worked tirelessly to get this guy arrested and behind bars, but also the public messaging that we did on behalf of President Trump shows his seriousness.”
Almost all Senate Democrats voted Thursday afternoon to block a bill which would have paid some federal workers and U.S. service members during the ongoing government shutdown, which entered its 25th day Saturday.
“And this actually played an integral role in his [El Pato’s] continuing to be behind bars, because people are seeing President Trump is not messing around with this. If they try to resort to their own games of bribery and all of this other stuff, they then will be putting themselves in the target,” the DNI added.
“We will not allow cartel gangs who target Americans to roam freely, whether in the U.S. or across the border in Mexico. Our team at NCTC is on the watch, preparing for the moment to strike,” Gabbard said in a Tuesday press release announcing El Pato’s arrest.
The State Department designated the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in February 2025, along with other notorious Latin American crime syndicates, including MS-13 and Tren de Aragua (TdA).
Since Trump began his second term in office, illegal border crossings significantly fell from their peak under the Biden administration.
Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a prominent Trump critic, admitted Thursday on Fox News that since Trump came back to the White House, “We don’t have the problem that existed before with people coming across the border.”
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