American Hiker Shot by Suspected Mexican Cartel in San Diego County
An American hiker and his Canadian friend were shot and robbed by suspected Mexican cartel members on the US side of the border.

An American hiker was shot and robbed by suspected Mexican cartel members on Wednesday, just ahead of the US Marine deployment from Camp Pendleton to the border.
The incident occurred around noon when a group of hikers, including US and Canadian citizens, was confronted by two armed individuals approximately 1,000 feet north of the international border.
Border patrol said a group of hikers were bombarded with gunfire, with the victim struck twice and robbed in El Centro Sector’s area in the Jacumba Wilderness.
“Cartels think they can bring their war here. Think again!” Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino posted to X Wednesday afternoon.
“Americans won’t be intimidated. Our agents & BORTAC will confront these threats HEAD ON!”
Bovino included a video in his social post of nearly a dozen agents carrying what appears to be the victim on a gurney into a helicopter.
American hiker strafed with gunfire & shot twice by suspected #cartel #terrorists in Jacumba, CA
Cartels think they can bring their war here. Think again!
Americans won’t be intimidated. Our agents & BORTAC will confront these threats HEAD ON!@CBPAMO pic.twitter.com/8QpQ86RRpQ
— USBP Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino (@USBPChiefELC) January 23, 2025
Well, it looks like they are also going to be confronted by US Marines as well. I live next to the Marine Air Station Miramar. Since early this morning, the soothing sounds of regularly launched military aircraft have been in the background.
1st Wave of US troops arrive at the southern border
500 Marines and sailors from Camp Pendleton California are now at the southern border as part of the larger order of 1500 military troops.
Active-duty military troops are beginning, or will soon arrive in El Paso, Texas, and… pic.twitter.com/q9DAKRXhZ5
— Andrea Shaffer, Employment/Labor Law (@Andreafreedom76) January 24, 2025
The attackers, believed to be cartel members, approached two hikers from the group and ordered them to come closer, speaking in Spanish. When the hikers didn’t comply, fearing potential kidnapping, the gunmen fired warning shots into the air. As the hikers attempted to leave, the assailants opened fire, striking one American hiker in the leg.
The attackers then took advantage of the vulnerable hikers and robbed them of their backpacks and phones.
Luckily, the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting the incident and Border Patrol agents in the El Centro Sector responded to assist the hiker.
About an hour after the 911 call was made, the Mountain Disrupt Unit, Border Patrol Tactical Unit, and Border Patrol Search, and Rescue found the victim in the wilderness.
Authorities were able to stabilize the victim and airlifted him to a nearby medical center in San Diego for treatment.
It must be noted that President Donald Trump floated the possibility of sending US troops into Mexico to combat the country’s drug cartels during remarks during a post-inauguration day press questioning during an executive order signing session.
Trump’s comments came in response to a question about whether he would consider deploying U.S. special forces to target cartels if they were designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
“Could happen,” he said in the Oval Office after his inauguration. “Stranger things have happened.”
..Trump designated international cartels and criminal organizations such as MS-13 and Tren de Aragua as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under an executive order.
These groups will be declared a national security threat, invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to disrupt their operations.
Trump repeatedly vowed to crack down on cartels throughout his successful presidential campaign.
Mexican Cartel Smugglers Open Fire on American Hikers in California
– Armed smugglers shot at hikers near Jacumba Hot Springs.
– One hiker was shot in the leg and airlifted to the hospital.
– The smugglers, dressed in all black, fled back across the border into Mexico. pic.twitter.com/CBsAF3Hr7P
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) January 24, 2025
Trump’s statements came BEFORE cartel members began shooting Americans on our side of the border.
I will simply note that many more American troops are now stationed along the border than when I woke up this morning.

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Comments
I live east of Miramar MCAS. The fact anyone has to be concerned hiking in Jacumba (other than the nudists and SVPs) is ridiculous and I bet Trump will make this a harsh lesson
The lesson should be by a few thermobaric bombs.
Just a few?
👍
General Pershing, call your office.
Punitive Expedition 2.0
Jacumba has been an illegal hotspot for a very long time. I remember back in the early 2000s there used to be signs on I-8 (near Jacumba) about not picking up hitchhikers; not sure if those signs are still there. But more recently, activity in that area really worsened after Texas started to clamp down. There’s a ‘wall’ there. But, it doesn’t do much, as this story capably demonstrates.
Yeah I used to work in J-Town. The area is within San Diego Sector and is covered by the Boulevard Border Patrol Station. The victims must have been down the In-Ko-Pah grade of I-8 and could only reach Imperial County Sheriff’s dispatch 911 operators.
I’ll have to reach out to some guys I know to see where it happened.
I was confirmed in the little church there😇
The fact that our federal government posts signs like this (Organ Pipe National Monument) rather than addressing the problem is a shameful confession of its apathy over our national sovereignty.
‘Active Duty Troops will soon arrive in El Paso’…do what? The 1st Armored Division with all its subordinate units is HQ at Ft Bliss which is ‘in’ El Paso. Granted FT Bliss has a big ass footprint, bigger than Rhode Island in fact, but most of it is training areas and impact area/ranges. There’s plenty of the installation including nearly all the housing/barracks/motor pools inside the Interstate loop surrounding El Paso.
No chance to defend yourself in California.
Two years ago I was in Big Bend National Park. Last fall, I was in Glacier National Park. Both are border parks. Both have a variety of dangerous predators. I carried my S&W 329PD .44 magnum while at both parks. But, then again, this is my usual carry option anywhere there are bears or cougars. I’ll be carrying it tomorrow in Olympia’s Capital Forest.
I must say, I’m going to feel naked in Death Valley next month!
No worries. The only animals I’ve run into at Death Valley were coyotes. Only saw one. The rest just serenaded me to sleep at night.
I grew up in Campo not far away and when i went out for daily hikes always carried my rifle until last few years when the libs/leftist type who moved there started calling law enforcement on me “ man with a gun”. But they all knew me. Sold my boyhood home 3 years ago before everything went to💩💩💩
Sic ’em!
I have always thought that armed invaders on US territory should be dealt with by the military. Perhaps that will happen now.
Let’s hope. Trump did designate cartels as terrorist groups, I believe.
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