Secretary Noem Honors Nicholas Quets, a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Murdered by the Sinaloa Cartel

President Trump and Secretary Noem are dismantling drug cartels that profit from trafficking, violence, and lawlessness

WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security released a video featuring the parents of Nicholas Quets, a U.S. Marine Corps Veteran who was viciously murdered by members of the Sinaloa cartel.

On October 18^th, 2024, Nicholas Quets traveled to Rocky Point, Mexico, where upon entry, he encountered a Sinaloa cartel checkpoint. These cartel members attempted to steal his pickup truck before shooting him in the back through his heart, ultimately taking his life at just 31 years old.

Watch the video.

President Trump and Secretary Noem have taken decisive action to dismantle drug cartels. On President Trump’s first day in office, he signed an executive order to designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. This designation expands law enforcement and the government’s ability to crack down on cartels’ drug and sex trafficking operations in the U.S.

On what would have been Nicholas Quets’ 32^nd birthday, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against six individuals and seven entities allegedly involved in a money-laundering network supporting the Sinaloa cartel.

Earlier this month, HSI along with the help of the Mexican government arrested Jacobo Regalado “J3” a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico. He is responsible for hundreds of homicides and smuggling illicit drugs into the U.S.

Additionally, earlier this month, Pedro Inzunza Noriega and Pedro Inzunza Coronel, key leaders of the Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO), a powerful and violent faction of the Sinaloa cartel that is believed to be the world’s largest known fentanyl production network, were charged with narco-terrorism, drug trafficking, and money laundering.

“Nicholas Quets was a patriot who served our country honorably and was killed by these cartel cowards who shot him in the back. President Trump and Secretary Noem are honoring his memory by dismantling the Sinaloa cartel and other drug cartels that profit from trafficking, violence, and lawlessness,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “President Trump’s strong leadership and these arrests and prosecutions of scum-of-the-earth cartel leaders are delivering results. The days of unchecked cartel violence are over.”

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