NBC’s Cynthia McFadden reports how one of the most dangerous Mexican cartels is targeting Native American reservations in Montana. “It’s as if fentanyl is raining on our reservation,” says tribal leader Marvin Weatherwax Jr. “They’ve infiltrated our reservation. They’ve married in. They’ve basically set up shop. It’s just a problem that won’t go away.” “It’s like a switch turns off, and then a whole different population that takes over,” he said. Montana’s U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich explains: “Why Montana? Fundamentally, it’s money. It’s big business. These are transnational criminal organizations. They’re sophisticated people who have a lot of resources and who are as dangerous as they come. They’ve taken advantage of the situation.” Stacy Zinn, a former DEA official, tells NBC that on the reservations, the price of fentanyl is high, and law enforcement is sparse. “Drugs in other cities are saturated. You have multiple cartels. Well, up here in Montana, it’s pretty much wide-open space and territory for them to grab profit margin,” Zinn said. “These reservations don’t have enough Tribal Police to protect them-very, very few. And there are hundreds and hundreds of acres of land. And nefarious people, the ones committing crimes, know this.” “The drug problem on our reservation is so serious that it’s pretty much wiping out a generation,” Weatherwax said.
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