Mexico is a major hub for various types of smuggling operations, primarily driven by powerful 

transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) or cartels. The primary goods and people smuggled include: 

• Drugs: Mexican cartels dominate the import and distribution of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin into the United States. The vast majority of these substances are smuggled through official U.S. ports of entry, often hidden in vehicles, rather than between ports of entry in desert areas.
• Humans: Human smuggling operations are a significant criminal enterprise, with cartels controlling migration routes and often demanding “taxes” for passage. Smugglers use various methods, including land routes, maritime vessels like yachts and panga boats, and sometimes resort to dangerous tactics like sedating children with THC-laced candy during transit.
• Weapons and Cash: Firearms, including military-grade weapons, are often smuggled from the U.S. into Mexico, providing cartels with the means to enforce their operations and engage in violence. Bulk cash is smuggled back to Mexico to launder illicit profits.
• Illicit Fuel: Cartels have developed sophisticated schemes to smuggle and sell stolen fuel (oil), sometimes using a “dark fleet” of tankers and fraudulent invoices to avoid taxes and customs controls.
• Wildlife: There are also cases of protected and vulnerable species, such as orange-fronted parakeets, being smuggled across the border for illegal trade. 

U.S. and Mexican authorities are engaged in extensive efforts to combat these activities. This includes:

• Sanctions: The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposes sanctions on specific transnational criminal organizations and their leaders, freezing their U.S. assets and barring U.S. persons from financial transactions with them.
• Joint Operations: Agencies like the DEA, HSI, and CBP coordinate with Mexican counterparts on initiatives like “Project Portero” to dismantle cartels, share intelligence, and extradite key figures.
• Technology and Infrastructure: Border security efforts involve a mix of physical barriers, surveillance technology like thermal imaging cameras, and the detection and destruction of sophisticated cross-border tunnels used by smugglers. 

For more information on U.S. border enforcement and seizures, you can visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website. Details on specific enforcement actions are available on the Department of Justice website.