Welcome to For The Record, the Colorado Times Recorder’s series where you can hear public figures in their own words. We’ll give you the clip and the context, so can listen for yourself.
Jonathan Pullen, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Special Agent In Charge at the Rocky Mountain division, recently suggested on air that “the only way” to fight domestic drug trafficking, if the Mexican government will not take action itself, is for the U.S. government to send either DEA agents or military troops into Mexico to fight drug cartels.
The DEA has had multiple prominent operations in Colorado in recent weeks, including detaining 49 individuals following a raid of a ‘makeshift nightclub’ in Aurora; officials say that more than 40 of those detained were undocumented. Some partygoers were alleged to have been members or associates of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, but the agency has since confirmed that no criminal charges resulted from the raid.
In the wake of this enforcement action and others, Pullen made an appearance on KNUS Radio’s Jeff and Bill Show on February 3. He was joined by former KNUS host Steffan Tubbs, who, after a career of spreading conservative propaganda and misinformation, was hired last year as a public relations specialist at the Rocky Mountain DEA.
During the interview, host Jeff Hunt asked Pullen, “If you had all the power to be able to address one thing that you think could really turn the direction of this country against the fentanyl epidemic we’re facing, against the cartel activities, the human trafficking, all that. And we gave you that. What would do it?”
Pullen responded, “I think, honestly, taking out these cartels within Mexico, right?”
He continued, suggesting that “taking out these cartels within Mexico” might entail action by the DEA or the U.S. military in Mexico.
Pullen: “But I mean, the biggest drug threat to the United States right now, the biggest drug threat we’ve ever seen in our lifetimes, Jeff, is fentanyl, right? And that is solely coming out of Mexico with chemicals from China. So if we can really clamp down on the China piece so the chemicals don’t come anymore and then really go hard, not just on the cartel members in the U.S. but in Mexico, whether that’s DEA action or military action or the Mexican government action, whatever that looks like, that’s the only way to really stop this threat.”
Tubbs did not respond to a request to clarify whether Pullen was referring to a potential invasion of Mexico, sent to him via his official DEA Public Information Officer email. This story will be updated with any response received.
President Donald Trump has declared an emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, which allowed the Department of Defense to deploy armed forces to the region, as well as signed an executive order to declare drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
Trump has indicated that he is open to the possibility of sending U.S. troops into Mexico to fight the cartels. In November, a senior Trump transition team member told Rolling Stone, “How much should we invade Mexico? That is the question.”
Listen to Pullen and Tubbs’ full interview on The Jeff and Bill Show here.
