Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Now this is this ain't no love train. This is
the Beast train, and it operates between Mexico and the
US border, and we have migrants rushing to get on board,
fighting amongst themselves, falling off the train, all kinds of
issues going on here. Ron Btello joins US Farmer Chief,
US Border Patrol and retired acting ICE Director. I assume
this train is on the Mexico side of the border
(00:24):
and is crossing obviously into the United States. So what's
happening as far as whoever's operating this train to prevent
this from.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Happening, Yeagody morn Jimmy, thanks for having me on. It
is a it's a freight train that runs from near
the Mexican Guatemala border up north through Mexico, and so
it's used by migrants who would be illegal migrants who
are trying to make their way to our southern border,
Mexico's northern border. And as you said, it is they
(00:53):
call it the Beef because it choos people up and
spits them out. It's a very dangerous way to travel people.
We'll use this, you know, freight cars and hoppers and
all the kinds of things that you know, the car
commodities up towards the northern border, and they use it
to uh tach a rite and so it's very dangerous.
It's out in the elements. The corrupt officials from Mexican
(01:15):
government and smugglers and all kinds of people are in
the pipeline, and then those people are being picked off
by cartels and smugglers and other people who are corrupted Mexico.
So it's not only dangerous physically, it's it's uh, it's
it's one heck of a trip for young people, for women,
et cetera. And uh, you know, freight trains are not
(01:36):
made for people, and so uh, lots of death, lots
of destruction and maiming that goes on people trying to
make that journey toward the border.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
And of course the cartails don't care. They just care
about making the money and you know, trying to get
as many people up to our border as they possibly can. Obviously,
if it's operating between Guatemala and the US border, if
it's if it's completely under Mexican control, there's little, if anything,
we can do about it. Why isn't the Mexican govern
been doing more about it?
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Yeah, it's in private hands, and so that the company
that owns it and the government have tried over the
years to you know, keep people off it. There's a
bit of technology in play to try to keep people
off the train while it's moving, but it you know,
this is this is the problem when we have like now,
we have this terrible problem at the border because we've
(02:22):
incentivized people to get on that train and come towards
the you know, the Mexican northern border to come into
our country. And so the pipeline is full. It has
been full for the last four years. And like you said,
these cartels are making money hands over fit. They've not
had a better president in New White House than Joe Biden.
And so you have this volume of activity. And even
if Mexico engaged and tried to limit the number of
(02:45):
people that are using the train, there's still lots of
smuggling going on. The cartels really control the pipeline, uh
And if your policies encouraging people, then you're just going
to get more people in the pipeline. Right.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
And of course January the twenteth inauguration days less than
two weeks away, so I'm sure they feel the clock
ticking on this. You know, there's a rum run that
the Mexican government is worried to some extent that the
Trump may use the US military to intervene at the border,
and especially as it relates to the cartel. Do you
think there's any possibility that that could happen or is
(03:18):
he just striking fear into their hearts at this point.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I think it's a little bit of both. I think
there are things that the military can do to help,
you know, the border patrol on the line, to help
with this problem in our country, and certainly could do
things in Mexico. And so I think it's part of
the strategy and part of the bigger picture in which
the President says, hey, you know, look, if you're not
helping us with our border, we're going to We're going
to start talking about tariffs of your goods coming across
(03:44):
the border that would be economically devastating to Mexico. And
so they have an opportunity to step up and help
and make the border safer between them and Guatemala. They
helped in Trump one point, oh, make our border safer.
When the large people were large groups for trending across
the border all at the same time, and so there
are things that they can do. We don't want to
(04:05):
outsource this problem to them. But if they want help
with cartels and they want, you know, I could see
a plan where we're helping them decide on what kind
of resources to use, maybe advisors in Mexico, you know,
intelligent sharing intelligence from the military, those kinds of things,
boots on the ground, I think would be very difficult
thing to do without the cooperation of large, you know,
(04:28):
populations in Mexico, including the government. But this again is
like you said, everything changes on January twenty with regard
to how we treat the problems that are border in
the streets of America, and so Mexico has got an
opportunity to lean in and help and do more. And
Trump is having these conversations right essentially in public, and
(04:51):
after the twentieth we'll be having it with government officials.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Trying to provide them with the incentive. Thanks, Ron, appreciate it.
Ron Vtello, former chief US Border Patrol and retired ACT
DING ICE director