Cartels Use Wristbands to Track Human Smuggling Over Border

An illegal immigrant wears two wristbands that Mexican cartels have been using to control human smuggling into the United States, near Penitas, Texas, on March 15. 2021. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

McALLEN, Texas—Illegal border-crossers are coming into the United States wearing wristbands that relate to the smuggling organization or cartel that they paid to cross the river, according to new reports and confirmation by Border Patrol agents.

The wristbands have been spotted on illegal immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas, as well as discarded on the ground beyond the river. Some illegal aliens were found wearing two different colored wristbands.