Soldier of Fortune Magazine The Journal of Professional Adventurers
by Heath Hansen
Tim Foley is the founder and leader of Arizona Border Recon (AZBR), a private group that patrols the U.S. Southern border. Members gather intelligence about activity there, and share their findings with federal and local officials. Most of what they encounter involves human trafficking and drug smuggling. Lately, activity has picked up, according to Foley. I accompany him as he gathers the cameras he set up along approximately two miles of trails Northwest of Nogales, Mexico (see the video, below). Foley gives us insight as to what’s happening on the border, and shows us some of the smuggling routes he monitors.
Soldier of Fortune / Hansen: What have you been seeing recently, when you make trips down South?
Foley: It’s still a wide open border. Groups of 20 gotaways on camera, and drugs are being pushed farther to the east, right on the edge of our (AO). Cartel members are vying for real estate, and fighting each other in the process. They want to control this sector; they want to collect the profits from every illegal that crosses in this area.
READ MORE from Heath Hansen: Wilderness Tracking in Arizona: A Mission Along the Border
Soldier of Fortune / Hansen: From my previous trips out here, I’ve learned that Sinaloa owns this territory. Is this fighting between different groups within the Cartel? In the 80’s, all the way to today, there are “sets” within the Bloods and Crips that fight amongst themselves, even though they belong to the same gang. Is this essentially what’s happening in the Sinaloa Cartel today?
Foley: Yeah, it’s just different factions of Sinaloa fighting amongst themselves. Sinaloa has five or six camps: Chapos, Chapitos, Las Cazadores, and two or three others I can’t remember at the moment. Some are aligned with Chapo’s kid, and the others are aligned with El Mayo. Both believe they should be the boss.
These cells are doing the fighting for the rights to the trafficking routes in our AO. They’re warring right now, and this war has been going on since October of 2023.
Soldier of Fortune / Hansen: In my previous articles, I’ve written about the Baby’s Head gap. Is this the spot they’re fighting for control over?
Foley: They’re fighting along about a 20 mile stretch of the Border, and Baby’s Head is prime real estate for smuggling. So yes, that’s a major hot spot.
READ MORE from Heath Hansen: At ‘OP Baby’s Head’: Water for the Cartels, Cross-Border Mules, and a Skull in the Badlands
As Foley and I make our way through the dense vegetation, brought on by recent monsoon rain storms, we come across a supply drop. The supply drop consists of multiple blue crates, full of water jugs, and five-gallon buckets full of Vienna sausages and Nature Valley granola bars. These supply caches are regularly replenished by local activists.
Soldier of Fortune / Hansen: You’re a veteran of the US military, right? What types of weapons are these guys carrying? Are we talking about pistols, shotguns, and hunting rifles? Or are they carrying military type stuff?
Foley: I did a stint in the 82nd Airborne Division and I know what different weapons sound like. We’ve been down on the line and have heard some of the fighting going on. The Cartels have every type of weapon, from M4’s, AK’s, .50 cal’s, and RPK belt fed machine-guns.
We had a 6 AM wake up with them going at it with a .50 cal machine gun, and the response to that was RPK for half a minute. We sit on hilltops and watch to see which side has what type of weaponry.
The U.S. Border Patrol seized this .50 cal ammo along the U.S. Southern border. This ammunition is used in American heavy machine guns.
Soldier of Fortune / Hansen: We know you have sources on the ground, both government and civilian, but do you get intelligence from anywhere else?
Foley: Social media is a great source for intel. These guys love to post videos. Everything from human and drug smuggling, to them capturing and beheading their rivals.
They recently posted three videos from this area – I couldn’t even count the bodies, because there were so many pieces on the ground. There were at least five dead; I was able to count five heads. Then I could hear someone moaning.
I saw a guy who was missing his legs below the knees, and his arms below the elbows. He was still alive when they started chopping at his neck with a dull machete. At that point, all I could hear was slashing and gargling.
This is all happening right across the line within a mile or so. I call it the DMZ; it’s pretty much the dividing line that the Cartels are fighting for.
After a few hours, Foley and I finish collecting cameras and walking other smuggling routes. We head back to Foley’s office, where he uploads the trail-cam videos to his computer. The footage reveals multiple groups of camouflaged men, carrying large bundles on their backs.
Video screenshot
Foley: Based on the orientation of the cameras, it is clear the smugglers are heading North, deeper into the United States. We know this is dope because of the size of the packs, the size of the groups, and the way they are carrying the packs.
The dope packs are riding high on the backs of the mules, and every cubic inch of the bags is being used.
One of the groups isn’t carrying water, which tells me they are dropping off the packs at a nearby location and are more concerned with mobility.
Video screenshot
The group carrying water is probably dropping off their loads deeper into the US, and need the water to successfully make the trek.
It’s hard to tell, but some of the guys are wearing red shoes, which is a telltale sign of Sinaloa membership.
Soldier of Fortune / Hansen: This information is not what the average American typically hears from the US. Southern Border. Thank you for taking the time to speak with Soldier of Fortune Magazine and show us different smuggling routes in this AO. Stay safe out there, Tim!
Editor’s Note: The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the most powerful drug cartels in the world, and is largely responsible for manufacturing and importing fentanyl for distribution in the United States, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
