By Jeff Rainforth.
Last week I visited the border with Ben Bergquam, a correspondent for Real America’s Voice. Initially, the plan was to film cartel members smuggling hard-core narcotics into the country. I purchased a new drone with an infrared camera so we could film them at night. What we didn’t expect to see was a massive cartel operation in which hundreds of migrants were illegally ferried into the US via rafts, and the Biden administration assisting them. Below are videos I took of the operation with a night vision camcorder.
After spending two days and one night filming La Joya police go after suspected drug traffickers and human smugglers, we went to Roma, Texas where we believed we’d have a good chance of catching cartel drug smugglers in the act with the drone.
[I was not paid for this trip and I spent $3500 on the infrared drone. You can contribute to offset my expenses on my PAYPAL ACCOUNT or on my VENMO ACCOUNT. For Venmo, put in: Jeff-Rainforth-1.]
When we arrived in Roma, we went down to the Rio Grande River and came in contact with a National Guard unit. Guard members told us that they were there to assist Border Patrol with immigrants entering the US illegally. They were being ferried across by cartel members via several inflatable rafts. The Guard members asked us not to give away their position in any of our videos as cartel members had shot at them before. We of course agreed.
RELATED: HOW I ESCAPED A CARTEL-SUPPLIED GANG, DRUG ADDICTION, AND THE STREETS
Bergquam went ahead of me where the rafts were landing. I was carrying two drones in their cases and was looking for a good spot to take off and land. Just as I was setting up the infrared drone to get it in the air, a Border Patrol agent pulled up and started asking who we were and said that I couldn’t fly my drones in the area. I asked why and he replied, “you just can’t.” Miffed, I started walking back up the trail to where we had parked our rental truck. A few other Border Patrol agents asked Don (Ben’s cameraman) and me who we were with and what we were doing there.
On the road above the river, I was about to put the drone up away from any law enforcement. It’s not illegal to fly unless the FAA has restricted airspace where you are. I decided to check the FAA’s drone flight app which notifies pilots of flight restrictions. I was shocked to see that the FAA had indeed restricted drone flights in the area for ONLY three hours. In fact, the FAA had restricted drone flights across most of the Texas border, Louisiana, Mississippi, and part of Alabama. Apparently, the Biden administration didn’t want the public to see what was happening that night.
Knowing that I couldn’t fly unless I wanted to be arrested and have my drones confiscated, I put them back in the truck and met back up with Bergquam. Bergquam decided to head down back down to the river via a path overgrown with brush and trees. No Border Patrol or National Guard members were there and we could film people being ferried in by the cartels. I grabbed my night vision camcorder and off we went. We crossed through the government staging area where the illegal aliens were being processed, and a man in uniform who identified himself as head of the Mexican unification team (or something) tried to stop us from filming. Bergquam informed him that we had 1st Amendment rights and that we were going to film (Ben is seriously fearless and takes no crap).
We went down the trail, and as you can see in the video below, I almost fell several times (I bleeped out my expletives). I was filming our hike down with the camcorder in one hand, and my phone with the light on in the other so I could see. While we were filming at least one National Guard member told us not to, and to stay away from the river staging area where NG and Border Patrol had the illegal aliens waiting. Biden sure didn’t want America to see what was happening.
Here’s the main video. I included most everything so you can see what it takes to get these shots. Bergquam was narrating as I filmed. Several raft loads had crossed before we filmed. We caught the final two raft trips. Also, while the rafts were coming in, Border Patrol agents with night vision binoculars were watching for cartel members bringing drugs across in other areas while all border agents were busy with the illegal aliens. This is standard for the cartels. Bringing in people illegally is a distraction from drug smuggling.
Here are videos I shot of the government staging area above the Rio Grande River. We estimate the cartels got in up to 400 illegal immigrants while the Biden administration did everything to stop citizen journalists like Ben and me from filming.
As you can see, the Biden administration is doing everything they can to keep the American people in the dark with regards to what cartels are doing on the border. I escaped a cartel-supplied gang when I was 19 and I have vowed to fight against these terrorist scum the rest of my life.
I was not paid for this trip, and I spent $3500 on the infrared drone. I will keep it for filming future cartel operations. If you want to contribute, you can do so on my PAYPAL ACCOUNT or on my VENMO ACCOUNT. For Venmo, put in: Jeff-Rainforth-1. I have covered the border and cartel activity for years and traveled the world filming for counter-terror documentaries. Help keep independent journalists like myself in the field.
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Video stills from the border on the Rio Grande tonight. Just got back to the hotel. Border Patrol wouldn’t let me use the drone w/infrared camera and FAA restricted all drone flights here for 3 hours. Cartels got hundreds across where Ben Bergquam & I were. Videos coming soon. pic.twitter.com/U6luSVgitu
— Jeff Rainforth (@Bring_Back_Phil) December 9, 2021