Cartels in Colorado
I have been reading and hearing a lot about the trouble with increased cartel activity in the USA due to the flood of illegal immigrants across the borders to the south. After spending time looking into this issue, I have found that not only do we have problems with Mexican cartels but Chinese cartels as well.
California has been struggling with the incursion of drug cartels from Mexico for several years, but recently the problems have been increasing in violence in southern California’s Antelope Valley just east of Los Angeles. Cartels have taken over local communities by either squatting on rural property or purchasing homes and land and turning them into marijuana grows. Families in these communities are abandoning their homes and leaving the area due to the violence and intimidation of the cartels.
The cartels are also stealing water from the community’s water supply using trucks and diverting water from the Colorado River that supplies water to Los Angeles and San Diego metropolitan areas. With consistent drought problems in these areas, the loss of water is calculated to be an astounding 5.4 million gallons of water a day, every day. In northern California in Mendocino County thefts from rivers and streams have depleted Russian River waterways. In one water district, thefts from hydrants that could be used for fighting fires, forced officials to install locks on hydrants.
The cartels are also taking over land in northern California which is mountainous and very difficult to navigate. This 3,506 sq. miles is monitored by 21 deputies who have to deal with not only the stealing of water but rising violence including decapitated bodies, drive-by shootings, and other forms of intimidation.
I have been reading and hearing a lot about the trouble with increased cartel activity in the USA due to the flood of illegal immigrants across the borders to the south. After spending time looking into this issue, I have found that not only do we have problems with Mexican cartels but Chinese cartels as well.
California has been struggling with the incursion of drug cartels from Mexico for several years, but recently the problems have been increasing in violence in southern California’s Antelope Valley just east of Los Angeles. Cartels have taken over local communities by either squatting on rural property or purchasing homes and land and turning them into marijuana grows. Families in these communities are abandoning their homes and leaving the area due to the violence and intimidation of the cartels.
The cartels are also stealing water from the community’s water supply using trucks and diverting water from the Colorado River that supplies water to Los Angeles and San Diego metropolitan areas. With consistent drought problems in these areas, the loss of water is calculated to be an astounding 5.4 million gallons of water a day, every day. In northern California in Mendocino County thefts from rivers and streams have depleted Russian River waterways. In one water district, thefts from hydrants that could be used for fighting fires, forced officials to install locks on hydrants.
The cartels are also taking over land in northern California which is mountainous and very difficult to navigate. This 3,506 sq. miles is monitored by 21 deputies who have to deal with not only the stealing of water but rising violence including decapitated bodies, drive-by shootings, and other forms of intimidation.
So, what does that have to do with Colorado? Colorado, along with other southwestern states has experienced an increase in cartel activity and these cartels are not merely Mexican cartels but recently Chinese cartels as well. According to Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, Colorado is an “ideal hub for interstate and international commerce”. Colorado is centrally located between Mexico and Canada, has major national crossroads I-70, I-25, and I-76, and is home to DIA, the second-largest airport in the world. |
A DEA intelligence manager for Denver stated that since 2012 there was a “precipitous increase” in drug trafficking organizations in Colorado. Colorado laws allow larger, unregulated grows. A legal grow for a medical marijuana extended permit is 99 plants which can be worth $2.4 million. Illegal grows can produce up to 1,800 plants. In 2019 there were 650 grows in El Paso County. Some 850 Colorado properties are tied to Chinese criminal organizations. One of the biggest busts so far came last June, when the Colorado attorney general’s office announced that “a massive illegal interstate marijuana distribution and cultivation network stretching from Colorado to Texas” had been dismantled. It was allegedly Chinese-connected.
A home in Loveland CO that was worth $400,000 in 2017 was declared uninhabitable due to black mold just two years later. This has happened with several other homes in Larimer County. The unique fact is that all houses were used as marijuana grows run by Chinese traffickers.
Pueblo CO is becoming the “Drug Bust Capital” of Colorado. They are not only arresting traffickers and seizing marijuana grows, but are actively pursuing those who are bringing in illegal drugs from Mexico such as meth, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl. There are marijuana grows throughout Colorado. Tony Spurlock is the sheriff of Douglas County, south of Denver, and he’s seen the problem first hand. “Grow houses in the early stages when the law was first passed was a huge problem for us,” said Spurlock. “Because people were just coming in and renting houses everywhere and then just hydroponic manufacture of marijuana.” Grow houses are popping up in Denver and all its suburbs including Thornton, Aurora, Westminster, Commerce City, Lakewood, and Parker. A marijuana grow was busted up in Adams County that was worth $4 million in 2016. |
Can this happen on the Eastern plains? Sure! First of all, we have thousands of illegal immigrants flooding to Colorado because of the open border. Many of these are cartel members, selling and transporting drugs and making millions while destroying property, increasing violence, trafficking children, and using massive amounts of water. These are not people who care about the U.S.A. nor our family values.
The Eastern plains are ideal for marijuana grows: lots of sunshine, distance from federal drug agencies, isolation from cities, communities, and neighbors, and access to our underground water supply. If Antelope Valley, CA can produce marijuana in a near desert climate making billions of dollars then someone will look to our area as well.
If you are concerned, then we must be alert. Our attention has to be directed at large illegal grows. Legally medical marijuana growers are allowed 99 plants. We are looking out for those LARGE grows that are far away from the community and guarded by look outs, dogs and signs that discourage visitors. If you see anything that appears to be an illegal grow should first contact their sheriff’s office to notify them of the physical address of the grow. They should then also contact the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) at 303-866-3330 directly and file a complaint.
The Eastern plains are ideal for marijuana grows: lots of sunshine, distance from federal drug agencies, isolation from cities, communities, and neighbors, and access to our underground water supply. If Antelope Valley, CA can produce marijuana in a near desert climate making billions of dollars then someone will look to our area as well.
If you are concerned, then we must be alert. Our attention has to be directed at large illegal grows. Legally medical marijuana growers are allowed 99 plants. We are looking out for those LARGE grows that are far away from the community and guarded by look outs, dogs and signs that discourage visitors. If you see anything that appears to be an illegal grow should first contact their sheriff’s office to notify them of the physical address of the grow. They should then also contact the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) at 303-866-3330 directly and file a complaint.
The Caucus is Coming!
A caucus is a meeting of registered electors within a precinct who are members of a particular political party. The purpose of caucuses are to elect committee persons and delegates to the county assemblies.
Adams County officials have put together a list of facts and questions for the public for registration and voting in the caucus. The caucus is coming up on March 1, 2022. The Republican Precinct for the 1-70 Corridor is Precinct 363. If you are interested in how it works, contact Shellie Miller or Randall Miller on the Strasburg FB Community page, or you can contact the Republican Party Officers. Those interested in the Democratic Party Caucus can email [email protected] for more information. |
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith;
be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.
1 Corinthians 16: 13-14
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