“Hidden War; How Special Operations Game Wardens are reclaiming America’s Wildlands from the Drug Cartels” was written by John Nores, a 26-year veteran of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. It describes the very real war with drug cartels that is taking place in our own backyards.
Very few people have an appreciation of all the roles played by game wardens and how dangerous the job can be. FBI data shows that state game wardens are SEVEN times more likely to be assaulted with a deadly weapon than any other law enforcement officer and suffer injuries from assaults more than twice as often.
“Where do most really, really bad people go if they are looking to avoid law enforcement detection? Including a foreign invader terrorist threat. They are going to go as deep into the woods as they can to be undetected. So we are the guys that are going to run into them.”
John explains that cartel grow sites are far from victimless crimes. Hikers that stumble across the sites are likely to be killed. Illegally smuggled pesticides banned in the US poison water systems and kill wildlife. A marijuana plant consumes 5 gallons of water per day. The average site contains five thousand plants, meaning millions of gallons of water are stolen every year.
Recognizing the need for advanced training and tactics, John was key in developing the Marijuana Enforcement Team, the first of its kind on the nation. Team members train with Tier One operators including pararescue and special forces.
John describes a full-blown shootout that his team had with cartel members in the hills outside of Silicon Valley. One of his team members was grievously wounded. John would participate in at least five more gunfights before he retired.
Despite what people would think, John says marijuana legalization laws have incentivized black-market operations. In fact, Chinese Triads are now partnering with the Mexican cartels increase their operations in the US and destroying America from within.
“Hidden War” is a powerful and sobering book. I encourage everyone to read it and speak with their elected officials about this situation.