Joe And The Cartels Loot America

We already knew that Joe Biden and his mandarins had an affinity for the Mexican drug cartels. The administration has stood by and watched while those ultra-violent criminal organizations have pumped America full of fentanyl, which kills over 100,000 Americans a year. They have also openly facilitated the movement of illegals into this country. That enterprise now earns the cartels more each year than drug smuggling.

We have now discovered that Joe and his like-minded cronies in Democratic cities are responsible for the cartels’ new cash cow – the organized, industrial-scale looting of American stores.

If you listen to the news media that functions as the propaganda arm of the Democratic Party you will “know” that the epidemic of shoplifting across America is the result of economic inequity and systemic racism. In short, as usual, you will know nothing. These people are not stealing to feed families or survive another day. This is not as one commentator said, “reparations”. They are looting as part of a massive criminal enterprise under the control of the Mexican drug cartels.

“Defund the police”, means in essence, make the drug lords in Mexico even richer and more powerful.

“Cartels are involved in every level of retail crime, from in-store theft and listing items in online marketplaces to shipping stolen merchandise worldwide and using U.S. financial institutions to hold their profits.”

The Washington Examiner

"Organized retail crime is leading to more brazen and more violent attacks in retail stores throughout the country. Many of the criminal rings orchestrating these thefts are also involved in other serious criminal activity such as human trafficking, narcotics trafficking, weapon trafficking, and more," said Steve Francis, acting executive associate director for Homeland Security Investigations.  HSI is part of the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

America’s retailers are feeling the impact. They are bleeding profits. The scope of what is happening is unprecedented. It Is pushing companies to flee areas where they are being targeted. It is threatening the very existence of many firms. "Organized retail crime exploded over the last few years as criminals exploited the anonymity of third-party online marketplaces to fence billions in stolen products," RILA Senior Executive Vice President of Public Affairs Michael Hanson said in a statement.

This is the way it works. Organized criminal gangs working as part of a crime ring run by cartels target stores. They case the locations to be hit. Then they steal items specifically identified as being easy to “fence.” Those items are then typically resold online to unsuspecting consumers. The cartels are involved at every stage of this process, and they are raking in billions in profits.

"Unlike shoplifting, where an individual steals food due to hunger or related incidents of simple theft, [organized theft groups] illegally profit from systematically targeting retail establishments utilizing professional thieves known as 'boosters,'" according to HSI. "Often, boosters travel in crews throughout the country utilizing aliases, rental vehicles, and tools such as 'booster bags' and illegally acquired security keys to steal high-value merchandise."

Fences take great pains to conceal that the items being resold are stolen. They often use heat guns and lighter fluid to remove anti-theft stickers.

According to Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach boosters "almost always" steal a dollar amount that is below the felony theft level. In Kansas, that means staying below the $1,000 felony threshold. Boosters often use aids of some kind called "pushouts" or "rollouts," throwing items in a cart or large bag and walking or running out of the store. They know that corporations typically prohibit employees from attempting to intervene.

In other cases, boosters carry bags lined with tin foil to defeat store theft detection devices. If confronted boosters often respond with violence. Since they know they operate with virtual impunity they often return over and over again to the same location. One Old Navy store in San Francisco was hit 22 times in two days. It is now closed.

The scope of what is happening is almost unimaginable. In 2021 the last year for which full statistics are available retailers nationwide lost in excess of $90 billion to what they call “shrink”. That’s theft to you and me Eighty percent of retailers polled nationwide reported an increase in merchandise stolen in 2022, according to the National Retail Federation.

Downtown areas across the country are becoming ghost towns as retailers flee from heavily targeted areas. Impoverished areas in our inner cities are becoming food “deserts” as grocery stores close and move away. Giant Foods in the Anacostia area of Washington, D.C. recently announced a last-ditch measure. It will stop stocking name brands and only sell generics and store brands in the hope that this will stop organized gangs from continuing to loot the store. If this does not work the store will be forced to close and the residents of the area will be left without anywhere to shop.

https://nrf.com/advocacy/policy-issues/organized-retail-crime

What’s the reaction of the Biden administration and its allies in Democratic urban areas? Nothing.

They are all in on the policies that have created an environment where organized crime can pillage with impunity. Joe and the cartels are looting America and you are footing the bill.