Verdict with Ted Cruz - October 16, 2025


BONUS POD： Bounties for ICE Agents as Trump mulls going after Cartels where they Live


Episode Stats

Length

16 minutes

Words per Minute

150.98387

Word Count

2,463

Sentence Count

173

Hate Speech Sentences

1


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.620 Guaranteed human.
00:00:04.920 Somebody said, would we think about taking the World Cup away from Boston?
00:00:09.480 You know, FIFA is very hot.
00:00:11.040 If we think there's any reason that, whether it's Boston or anywhere else,
00:00:14.780 that they're not doing their job,
00:00:16.180 we're going to take those World Cup games and move them someplace else.
00:00:19.500 You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:00:23.340 Good Thursday morning.
00:00:24.420 Nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update.
00:00:26.660 And we've got two big stories for you.
00:00:28.500 First up, the drug cartels are now putting bounties on the heads of American law enforcement.
00:00:35.180 And the higher ranking you are, the more money they're willing to pay for you to be dead.
00:00:40.500 So what will happen next?
00:00:42.440 We'll have the details on America's response to it in just a moment.
00:00:46.500 Also, the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump,
00:00:49.540 not wasting any time going after the cartels,
00:00:52.800 taking out more boats in international water that are filled with drugs,
00:00:56.300 and now talking about going after targets that are on land.
00:01:01.020 But first, did you see that gold just hit an all-time new high of over $4,000 an ounce?
00:01:09.060 And if you hear that and you're like, are you kidding me?
00:01:11.240 And you're thinking, gosh, I missed my opportunity.
00:01:14.220 Well, I don't know if you missed your opportunity.
00:01:16.540 But my friends at Kurt Elliott Precious Metals, they can answer that question for you.
00:01:21.180 You also may not be paying attention to the incredible gains with silver that are happening right now as well.
00:01:28.040 And that's why I trust the guidance of the team at Kurt Elliott.
00:01:32.020 In fact, I literally just got a 100-ounce bar of silver the other day.
00:01:37.560 And the reason why is because after I talked to the team at Kurt Elliott Precious Metals,
00:01:42.700 they let me understand exactly where I could have a big upside in investing in silver.
00:01:47.660 Now, the other part that I love about them is this.
00:01:51.060 They have transparent pricing.
00:01:53.580 There are a lot of gold companies that you'll hear about if you listen to talk radio or podcasts or watch TV.
00:01:59.620 But do they tell you how the pricing actually works?
00:02:03.600 Well, at Kurt Elliott, they're real simple.
00:02:06.240 Just 8% when you buy and zero commissions when you sell with no hidden fees ever.
00:02:13.640 That is the other reason why I recommend them to all of you.
00:02:16.960 They also don't sell you, quote, rare coins or precious coins that you pay insane markups on.
00:02:23.600 And then when you go to sell them, you find out they're really not worth that much.
00:02:27.340 They are a bullion-only approach.
00:02:29.920 They focus on investment-grade metals.
00:02:32.920 No overpriced collectibles.
00:02:35.100 No gimmicks.
00:02:36.200 That means you get more gold or silver for your money at fair value when it's time for you to sell.
00:02:42.540 So if you're ready to find out if gold and silver is right for you and your portfolio, then call them and get a plan.
00:02:51.640 You can visit them at KEPM.com slash Ben.
00:02:56.420 That's K-E-P-M dot com slash Ben.
00:03:01.320 Or 720-605-3900.
00:03:06.140 That's 720-605-3900.
00:03:10.680 Kirk Elliott, Precious Metals Online at KEPM dot com.
00:03:16.660 It's the 47 Morning Update, and it starts right now.
00:03:20.180 Story number one.
00:03:21.280 The Department of Homeland Security is now saying there is credible intelligence that Mexican cartels have disseminated a bounty program.
00:03:32.500 A bounty program incentivizing attacks on U.S. federal immigration officers.
00:03:39.740 Media briefings describe payouts starting at around $2,000 for doxing or surveillance and rising to as much as $50,000 for assassinations of senior officials.
00:03:54.480 The Department of Homeland Security publicly condemning a surge in doxing and threats against ICE personnel and their families and says it's coordinating with federal, state, and local partners to counter the threat.
00:04:07.960 The Department of Homeland Security also announced the arrest in Illinois of a Latin King gang member accused of placing a hit on a senior U.S. Border Patrol official.
00:04:20.620 The Department of Homeland Security highlighted the case as part of an escalating threat in the environment tied to the cartel-aligned actors in the U.S.
00:04:29.500 While the case involves Border Patrol, the Department of Homeland Security, we now know that this is a national security risk.
00:04:37.320 Chicago, by the way, has been a focal point in recent coverage, with local outlets there reporting on federal briefings that cartels are working through the local gangs and offering the local gangs cash bounties scaled to the agent's rank and the level of harm done.
00:04:58.500 This coming from Fox 32 in Chicago.
00:05:01.540 So how does the bounty system, well, work?
00:05:04.700 It is a tiered system, very much like what they use in Mexico.
00:05:10.780 A tiered incentive system for information gathering and doxing.
00:05:16.160 There is also incentives for non-lethal assaults.
00:05:19.420 Kidnapping attempts get you more money.
00:05:21.940 And lethal attacks get you paid big time.
00:05:25.100 The payout's increasing as the chain gets bigger and bigger.
00:05:29.360 The specifics coming from the Department of Homeland Security briefing and the Department of Homeland Security's own public statements emphasizing credible intelligence and a major spike in the threats and the doxing of our men and women in law enforcement.
00:05:44.260 The tactics noted in coverage include doxing of the agents, surveilling the agents and their families, and attempts to ambush personnel, with the Department of Homeland Security warning of a hostile operating environment for ICE and Customs and Border Patrol in certain cities.
00:06:03.560 Now, they're also going into what is being described as a protective posture and coordination.
00:06:09.620 The Department of Homeland Security says it's working with the DOJ and local partners and is urging prompt reporting of threats.
00:06:17.260 It has publicly condemned the doxing, targeting of agents and families, and operational security steps are understandably not detailed publicly.
00:06:25.400 But the bottom line is this.
00:06:28.120 We now know, and multiple outlets are reporting, that a cartel-linked, tiered bounty system targeting ICE and CBP officials with the amounts reported up to $50,000 for killing of high-ranking officials is already in the marketplace.
00:06:45.580 The Department has confirmed a credible threat environment and highlighted at least one arrest tied to the solicitation to murder of a Border Patrol, not just agent, but a Border Patrol leader.
00:06:58.000 Expected heightened security measures and ongoing joint investigations will be part of this.
00:07:03.840 Here's more about what the Department of Homeland Security said and how Fox reported it.
00:07:08.460 Attorney General Pambani says Facebook has removed the page that was being used to target ICE agents in Chicago.
00:07:15.940 The move comes as the DHS reveals cartels have issued bounties for hits on officers.
00:07:21.480 Griff Jenkins joins us from Washington with the latest on this story.
00:07:24.800 Griff, what do you know?
00:07:25.960 Well, good morning, Lawrence.
00:07:27.220 I know the threat to ICE and federal immigration law enforcement has never been higher.
00:07:31.740 DHS says there's now this tiered bounty system set up by Mexican cartels.
00:07:36.640 Take a look.
00:07:37.600 They're offering $2,000 for gathering intelligence or doxing immigration agents, $5,000 to $10,000 for kidnapping of standardized officers,
00:07:46.520 and up to $50,000 for the assassination of a high-ranking officer.
00:07:51.600 This after an alleged Latin King's gang member is accused of putting a bounty on Border Patrol's commander-at-large, Greg Bovino.
00:07:58.940 $2,000 on info on him.
00:08:00.540 $10,000 if you can, quote, take him down.
00:08:03.060 Now, the gang member's attorney denies any ties to the Latin Kings and paints the man as a, quote,
00:08:08.800 hardworking family man.
00:08:10.500 But Chief Bovino refutes that claim and says things are actually getting worse.
00:08:14.720 Griff, the Latin Kings are associated with drug cartels, i.e. terrorist organizations.
00:08:20.960 So those bounties remain and, in fact, have actually increased because of this, quote,
00:08:25.900 hardworking man.
00:08:27.500 And it's unbelievable.
00:08:31.800 Meanwhile, in the wake of anti-ice riots in places like Chicago and Portland,
00:08:35.920 A.G. Bondi announcing Facebook has removed an ice spotting group targeting officers.
00:08:41.660 She writes on X,
00:08:42.460 The wave of violence against ice has been driven by online apps and social media campaigns designed to put ice officers at risk just for doing their jobs.
00:08:51.300 The Department of Justice will continue engaging tech companies to eliminate platforms where radicals can incite imminent violence against federal law enforcement.
00:09:00.640 Now, a spokesperson for Facebook's parent company, Meta, says, quote,
00:09:04.540 This group was removed for violating our policies against coordinated harm.
00:09:09.820 All of this, Lawrence, comes as, as you know, ice continues to face a more than 1,000 percent increase in assaults.
00:09:17.060 Now, we've also learned more about what's happening in Chicago, for example.
00:09:22.400 Harris Faulkner.
00:09:23.280 I was actually in New York City with her on her show today.
00:09:26.200 And this is what I learned listening.
00:09:29.480 Fox News alert now.
00:09:30.640 Federal agents under siege.
00:09:32.440 Immigration and Customs Enforcement teams are facing a new threat dished out by the drug cartels.
00:09:37.740 First, it was violent protesters rioting and attacking ICE agents on the streets.
00:09:43.060 Now, Homeland Security Department has announced Mexican cartels have put out bounties on agents in Chicago.
00:09:49.960 DHS says those cartels are working with gangs and extremist groups to deploy armed spotters to rooftops to track agents' movements.
00:09:59.420 I'm Harris Faulkner.
00:10:00.400 You are in the Faulkner Focus.
00:10:01.700 DHS also revealed a tiered bounty system that cartels are using to incentivize violence.
00:10:09.200 Now, all of this, according to the DHS, here's the price cartels are putting out.
00:10:14.040 $2,000 to get information on ICE agents or to dox them.
00:10:18.580 $5,000 to $10,000 to kidnap or hurt the agents.
00:10:22.540 Up to $50,000 to assassinate senior officials.
00:10:27.560 Meanwhile, the rioting heating up again.
00:10:29.780 ICE and Border Patrol were forced to use tear gas to protect themselves from a large group of rioters in Chicago yesterday.
00:10:37.500 Chicago Police Department confirming those rioters were throwing objects at the ICE agents.
00:10:42.380 A serious federal crime.
00:10:44.080 Still, Illinois Democrats are going after the ICE agents, maybe even fueling some of this violence we're seeing.
00:10:52.720 One Democrat state senator posted ICE's behavior was unacceptable and that people in that neighborhood, quote,
00:10:59.300 don't tolerate this kind of BS, end of quote.
00:11:03.040 So there you have it.
00:11:04.740 Democrats continuing to advocate for the assault, the doxing, the attacking of ICE agents.
00:11:10.800 Now they're literally aligned with the cartels in Mexico.
00:11:15.040 Now story number two.
00:11:16.060 Donald Trump, after the doxing of ICE agents, is obviously not going to sit around and allow the cartels to put bounties on our men and women in uniform,
00:11:26.080 our men and women protecting our border, our law enforcement officers,
00:11:29.340 and think they can just get away with it as they're now going to war with us.
00:11:33.780 What is President Trump doing now?
00:11:35.800 Well, he's next looking, quote, at land in Latin America.
00:11:39.840 After the U.S. military has conducted at least five fatal strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean since September alone.
00:11:50.340 Quote, we are certainly looking at land now because we've got the sea very well under control.
00:11:56.620 Trump told reporters on Wednesday, we've had a couple of days where there isn't a boat to be found.
00:12:02.620 And I view that as a good thing, not a bad thing.
00:12:05.420 Trump said he wasn't interested in having the Coast Guard simply stop the alleged drug boats because, quote,
00:12:12.160 we've been doing that for 30 years and it has been totally ineffective.
00:12:17.800 They, referring to the cartels, have faster boats.
00:12:21.000 Some of these boats are seriously, I mean, they're world-class speed boats, Trump said,
00:12:25.780 but they're not faster than missiles.
00:12:28.660 But we've been trying to do that for years.
00:12:30.880 The White House has not responded to requests for comment about what this means
00:12:36.660 and details of the nature of a land operation that Trump is considering.
00:12:41.640 Additionally, Trump confirmed that he is also, and this is big news,
00:12:46.520 authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
00:12:52.500 After the New York Times reported on Wednesday that he had approved the order,
00:12:57.900 according to Trump, he did so because Venezuela has released prisoners into the U.S.
00:13:03.780 and that drugs were coming into the U.S. from Venezuela via maritime channels.
00:13:09.680 Trump declined to answer, though, when asked if the CIA had the authority to, quote, unquote,
00:13:14.460 take out the Venezuelan President Maduro.
00:13:18.140 He's nothing more than a drug kingpin in that country.
00:13:20.960 The Trump administration has said it does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state,
00:13:27.500 but a leader of a drug cartel.
00:13:30.340 Quote, I don't want to answer a question like that, Trump said.
00:13:33.340 That's a ridiculous question for me to be given.
00:13:36.040 Not really a ridiculous question, but wouldn't it be a ridiculous question for me to answer?
00:13:41.440 But I think Venezuela is feeling heat.
00:13:44.240 Now, the Trump administration has adopted a hard line approach to address the flow of drugs into the U.S.
00:13:49.980 and designated drug cartel groups like the Trend de Aragua, Sinaloa,
00:13:55.300 and other cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, doing this back in February.
00:14:01.620 Additionally, the White House sent lawmakers a memo as well, September the 30th,
00:14:07.640 dated informing them that the U.S. is now participating in a non-international armed conflict with drug smugglers.
00:14:17.600 Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have also voiced, quote,
00:14:21.700 concerns over the illegality of the strikes.
00:14:24.960 Senator Adam Schiff, a Democrat who's never met a drug dealer he didn't like,
00:14:28.900 and Tim Kaine, the Democrat from Virginia,
00:14:31.740 have filed a War Powers Resolution to bar U.S. forces from engaging in hostilities
00:14:37.800 against certain non-state organizations,
00:14:41.640 again, defending the drug cartels that are killing Americans.
00:14:44.500 The resolution failed in the Senate by a 51-48 margin.
00:14:50.440 October 8th, Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
00:14:54.960 voted alongside their Democratic counterparts in the resolution.
00:14:59.960 When asked about lawmakers' concerns about the legality of the strikes,
00:15:04.080 Donald Trump dismissed them and said that lawmakers were informed the vessels carried drugs,
00:15:09.920 quote,
00:15:10.520 but they are given information that they were loaded up with drugs.
00:15:16.060 And that's the thing that matters, the president said,
00:15:18.520 when they're loaded up with drugs, they're fair game.
00:15:21.240 And every one of those ships were, and they're not ships, they're boats.
00:15:25.960 They were loaded up with drugs.
00:15:28.160 So the president of the United States of America making it very clear,
00:15:32.100 he's not going to sit around and wait for more Americans to be killed
00:15:36.480 by accidental overdoses from fentanyl.
00:15:38.960 He's not going to wait around while cartels are putting bounties
00:15:43.000 on our American law enforcement heads.
00:15:46.200 He's going to war with these cartels
00:15:48.380 because he has designated them as terrorist organizations.
00:15:52.440 And this is exactly what so many conservatives voted for
00:15:56.380 in the last presidential election.
00:15:58.280 Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.
00:16:02.540 Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now.
00:16:07.880 And for more in-depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson podcast,
00:16:12.340 and we will see you back here tomorrow.
00:16:15.440 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:16:17.900 Guaranteed Human.