Cartel-backed pot grows linked to California, Oregon human trafficking
TRINITY COUNTY, Calif. — If you buy weed illegally, you unwittingly could be supporting Mexican cartels and other criminal syndicates that lure workers to farms in Northern California and Southern Oregon, where they often suffer inhumane conditions and sometimes sexual abuse. Or worse.
Some disappear, presumed murdered, their bodies discarded within the area's vast wilderness.
Others are held against their will. Sometimes, workers' passports, visas or driver's licenses and cell phones are locked away until they finish the harvest season. And cultivators often threaten to harm the workers or the workers' families if they run off or talk to police, said Trinity County Sheriff Tim Saxon.
"They're basically being held prisoner," he said.
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U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, who represents California's North Coast region, said he believes human trafficking is a "localized crisis" across parts of his district, especially in towns such as Covelo in Mendocino County. In 2021, The Courier Journal spent a week in that area, learning about Mexican cartel encroachment in Covelo, a small town in a valley in a northern part of the county that includes the Round Valley Indian Reservation.
"Cartels are operating with impunity there," the Democratic congressman said, citing limited sheriff's department resources to police an expansive area.
Huffman said he's exploring options, including possibly cross-deputizing members of local tribes to increase police manpower.
Criminal organizations are drawn to the Emerald Triangle because of its remoteness, which includes extensive mountains and lush forests that offer camouflage for illegal grows.
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By: Beth Warren
Source: USA News
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