Ash Kelley

those criminals felt like there was nothing too valuable to sacrifice.

So it was obvious that there was drug smuggling going on at the ranch, but they needed something a little bit more because they knew something much worse was going on.

Yeah, this is not looking good right now.

So Benitez himself had overseen the downfall of the Hernandez family in the last few years, so he knew that whatever was happening at the farm, they weren't working alone.

And they probably weren't running the show anymore either, which meant that another cartel was involved.

And that's a big deal.

Yeah.

So he ordered that the ranch be monitored day and night.

And in the meantime, he placed a call to his contact at the DEA to find out whether they knew anything about the operation at the ranch.

Now, the DEA had also been monitoring the Hernandez family since before they expanded beyond the border.

But that focus became more intense when the family expanded into Brownsville, Texas.

It was as Benitez had expected.

Something had changed in the family's fortune since the elder leaders had died.

So for decades, like I said, the Hernandez family had been trafficking small amounts of marijuana back and forth, but their operation was not that impressive, especially compared to the newer cartels.

And after the death of Saul and the failure of his brother, it was expected that they would kind of just be on their way out.

But that was hardly what the DEA had seen.

Edward Humes wrote, the Hernandez boys were living in a fine home, driving a fleet of brand new trucks and walking the streets like swaggering feudal lords.

Whoa.

Yeah.

What a description.