DHS Pays Tribute to Marine Killed by Cartel, Promises ‘Decisive Action’
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a video honoring the late Marine Corps veteran Nicholas Quets, who was killed by members of the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico in 2024. The video emphasized the Trump administration’s efforts to take “decisive action” against drug cartels from Mexico.
“Drug cartels are being called what they truly are: foreign terrorist organizations,” the video stated, featuring interviews with Quets’ parents, retired Army Lt. Col. Warren D. Quets Jr. and Patricia Quets. Their son, Nicholas, was killed at a Sinaloa cartel checkpoint near Rocky Point, Mexico, in October 2024. Cartel members reportedly attempted to steal his truck before shooting him. He was 31.
“I felt validated and vindicated,” Warren Quets said in the video, describing how President Donald Trump personally spoke with him about his son’s death. “Designating all those organizations as foreign terrorist organizations, it makes things safer for us and puts them on the defensive. We want to send a message that targeting Americans anywhere has legal consequences. I thank President Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem for dedicating their lives to protecting others and for being good stewards of the American taxpayers’ dollars, efforts and resources.”
“I want to thank everybody for putting this together and giving us a voice,” Quets’ mother added.
In a press release, the DHS reiterated its “decisive action” and commitment to dismantling drug cartels. The department highlighted President Trump’s executive order labeling cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and expanding law enforcement’s authority to target sex trafficking operations run by cartels within the US.
The Treasury Department also announced sanctions on six individuals and several entities accused of running a money-laundering operation supporting the Sinaloa cartel. The sanctions were issued on what would have been Quets’ 32nd birthday.
“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 DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement, according to Fox News. “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.”
