Trump Cracks Down on Border Money Service Businesses to Stop Cartel Money Laundering
“At President Trump’s direction, the Treasury Department is utilizing all tools to stop terrorist cartels, drug traffickers, and human smugglers,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in a prepared statement. “This sweeping operation will help root out potential cartel-related money laundering from the U.S. financial system.”
It’s almost impossible to believe the sheer scale of this infiltration. This isn’t just a minor issue; it’s a systemic rot that was allowed to fester for years. President Trump’s Treasury Department is now engaged in a full-scale financial war, targeting over 100 of these shady businesses. They sorted through over a million separate financial reports to uncover this network. Think about that. Our own system was so compromised that it took a massive operation just to figure out how much we were being robbed.
So how did they pull it off? Through something called a “money service business,” or MSB. For you and me, it’s a place to cash a paycheck. For the cartels, it’s a laundromat for blood money. Simple as that. Because these businesses deal heavily in cash, they offer a convenient veil of anonymity to wash the profits from fentanyl and human trafficking.
This is why the strategy to “follow the money,” as national security experts call it, is so brilliant. Instead of just playing defense at the border, the administration is going on offense. They are hitting the cartels where it truly hurts: their bottom line. By choking off their access to cash, we cripple their ability to operate. This isn’t just a policy change; it’s a strategic counter-offensive.
Let’s be brutally honest about what this money represents. Every dollar laundered is another funeral for a teenager who overdosed on fentanyl. Every transaction cleared is another life ruined by human traffickers. While past leaders offered empty words, this illicit economy exploded into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise funding the destruction of our communities.
You’ll hear some people complain that cracking down like this creates a “burden” on businesses. A burden? The real burden is the American family shattered by cartel-supplied drugs. The real burden is the overwhelmed hospital dealing with yet another overdose. Asking a business to follow the law is not a burden; it’s the absolute bare minimum required to operate in a civilized country.
This operation is exactly what happens when you put a real leader in charge. President Trump promised to get tough on the cartels, and this is what getting tough actually looks like. It’s not about photo ops or press conferences. It’s about using the full might of the U.S. government—from the Treasury to the IRS—to dismantle the financial infrastructure of our enemies.
It’s almost impossible to believe the sheer scale of this infiltration. This isn’t just a minor issue; it’s a systemic rot that was allowed to fester for years. President Trump’s Treasury Department is now engaged in a full-scale financial war, targeting over 100 of these shady businesses. They sorted through over a million separate financial reports to uncover this network. Think about that. Our own system was so compromised that it took a massive operation just to figure out how much we were being robbed.
So how did they pull it off? Through something called a “money service business,” or MSB. For you and me, it’s a place to cash a paycheck. For the cartels, it’s a laundromat for blood money. Simple as that. Because these businesses deal heavily in cash, they offer a convenient veil of anonymity to wash the profits from fentanyl and human trafficking.
This is why the strategy to “follow the money,” as national security experts call it, is so brilliant. Instead of just playing defense at the border, the administration is going on offense. They are hitting the cartels where it truly hurts: their bottom line. By choking off their access to cash, we cripple their ability to operate. This isn’t just a policy change; it’s a strategic counter-offensive.
Let’s be brutally honest about what this money represents. Every dollar laundered is another funeral for a teenager who overdosed on fentanyl. Every transaction cleared is another life ruined by human traffickers. While past leaders offered empty words, this illicit economy exploded into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise funding the destruction of our communities.
You’ll hear some people complain that cracking down like this creates a “burden” on businesses. A burden? The real burden is the American family shattered by cartel-supplied drugs. The real burden is the overwhelmed hospital dealing with yet another overdose. Asking a business to follow the law is not a burden; it’s the absolute bare minimum required to operate in a civilized country.
This operation is exactly what happens when you put a real leader in charge. President Trump promised to get tough on the cartels, and this is what getting tough actually looks like. It’s not about photo ops or press conferences. It’s about using the full might of the U.S. government—from the Treasury to the IRS—to dismantle the financial infrastructure of our enemies.
70-79, M
