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Officials Believe Mexican Illegals Behind Massive California Fires By Benjamin Arie

The recent wildfires in California have caused widespread destruction and even death as they rage across many regions of the state. That situation would be dire under any circumstances, but now new information may make the fires even more shocking.

There is a strong possibility that the wildfires were set deliberately, and may be linked to drug cartels operating north of the border.

The investigative news site GotNews recently dug into the situation, and pointed out some very disturbing facts. As their report pointed out, California’s wildfires typically occur in December and January, yet the October series of fires has been among the largest and most destructive to date.

Experts quickly noticed something interesting: The fires have dramatically impacted the state’s burgeoning legal marijuana industry… and that could be the work of powerful Mexican drug syndicates.

“Law enforcement authorities – including senior Department of Homeland Security officials – and key people within the legal marijuana business quickly noticed that the areas hit hardest by the fires are the same places that California’s marijuana industry legally grows cannabis, and are now starting to suspect foul play,” explained GotNews.

“The suspicious timing and sheer destruction of the fires has led them to believe the Mexican drug cartels – infamous for their ruthless tactics – had a hand in starting them,” the independent news site continued.

“These cartels, which run a large share of the world’s multi-billion dollar illegal drug trade, certainly have the means to pull of an attack like this.”

That news source did not specifically name the officials who are considering this possibility, but the facts do make the scenario very likely.

Both the New York Times and NBC News have pointed out that recreational marijuana grow operations — which are legal under California law — have all but been destroyed by the flames.

On top of destruction to the actual plants, a significant amount of cash has also gone up in smoke, and the legal grey area of marijuana at the federal level means that almost nothing is insured.

Many of the region’s farms, including those that harvest cannabis, have been scorched, including those in Sonoma County and in Mendocino County, the center of California’s marijuana industry,” reported the Times.

“Mendocino is one of three California counties that comprise Emerald Triangle, where much of the United States’ marijuana is produced,” the newspaper continued.

In other words, if the powerful Mexican cartels wanted to strike their new, legal competitors and remove them from the market, that area would be exactly where to do it.

“This couldn’t hit at a worse time because a lot of these property owners have just spent a lot of money going through the licensing process… trying to get compliant before the first of the year,” Robert Frichtel, CEO of General Cannabis Corporation, explained to NBC.

“They probably have invested with the expectation that this crop would help recoup a lot of those expenses,” he continued.

Now, much of that crop is gone… and the playing field is completely slanted back toward illegal drug syndicates in Mexico.

Marijuana legalization is of course a controversial issue, and there are no doubt some conservatives who have no problem seeing drug crops go up in flames.

However, it’s worth remembering that the state and its residents made this product legal, and one of the great parts of America’s separation of powers is that states can try different things free from endless federal mandates.

Many of the people who invested in the marijuana industry were entrepreneurs and small businessmen trying to deliver a product where there is an undeniable demand. The simple fact is that families have now lost their livelihoods and life savings because of these suspicious fires.

If the evidence continues to point to sabotage by illegal drug cartels, the state and the entire country have a very good example of why border security and law enforcement is so important.

Cartels do not stop at one product, but diversify and expand until their criminal fingers are in nearly every profitable industry. The American dream depends on a level playing field — and until violent and illegal activity is stopped, hardworking citizens are the ones who will be hurt.

https://conservativetribune.com/mexican-illegals-california-fires/

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