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  Published Date: 2020-07-27 

 Operator says UK can tap carbon capture and renewables to help meet UK’s targets Carbon emissions from Britain’s electricity system could turn negative by as early as 2033 if the UK uses carbon capture technology alongside more renewable energy to reach its climate targets, according to a report from National Grid. The electricity network operator on Monday set out its vision for an “emissions negative” grid that would include 30m electric vehicles on UK roads, and 8m heat pumps used to replace gas boilers in energy-efficient homes. In National Grid’s most progressive vision for Britain’s pathway towards its 2050 climate targets it claims that net carbon emissions from the electricity sector could turn negative within 13 years by using carbon capture technology alongside bioenergy sources. Mark Herring, the head of strategy at National Grid ESO, said three of the report’s four most-credible pathwaysto a net-zero economy by 2050 meant relying heavily on low-carbon electricity. National Grid expects a boom in renewable energy projects, including at least 3GW of new windpower capacity and 1.4GW of solar generation every year from now until 2050, alongside a widespread rollout of electric vehicles, which will effectively act as smart-charging “batteries” to help balance the electricity grid. It also expects a revolution in consumer energy use, including significantly better energy efficiency and the end of gas boilers. Instead, millions of homes will consume less than a third of the energy used today, and will rely on heat pumps fitted with thermal “heat batteries”. “Across all scenarios, we see growth in renewable energy generation, including significant expansion in installed offshore wind capacity. There is widespread uptake in domestic electric vehicles, and growth and investment in hydrogen and carbon capture technologies too,” Herring said. “Although these are not firm predictions, we’ve talked to over 600 industry experts to build this insight and it’s clear while net zero is achievable, there are significant changes ahead,” he added. The report warned that the UK will not meet its legally binding ambition to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 without “immediate action” from the government on key energy policies, and the negative emissions from bioenergy combined with carbon capture and storage. Bioenergy is considered by many to be carbon neutral because the emissions produced from burning wood pellets in a power plant is offset by the carbon dioxide absorbed by sustainably managed forests when the trees are growing. The “carbon accounting” is, however, disputed by some academics and environmentalists. National Grid believes that using carbon capture to trap the bioenergy power plant emissions would effectively mean the electricity produced from bioenergy would save 62m tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2050, the equivalent to about 13% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. Sign up to the daily Business Today email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk Carbon capture is also expected to play a major role in removing the greenhouse gases from North Sea gas to produce clean-burning hydrogen for Britain’s factories, steel works and power plants. This could mean that by 2035 the amount of gas burned to produce electricity without carbon capture technology may halve, according to National Grid. Herring said that it was too soon to determine the impact of the coronavirus crisis on Britain’s energy future, but many are hopeful that the pandemic may hasten the UK’s climate ambitions by using government stimulus packages for clean energy and energy efficiency measures to spur a green economic recovery. “While Covid-19 came too late to be factored into this year’s analysis many of the areas highlighted will be crucial in a green recovery from the pandemic, particularly improving energy efficiency across all sectors and significant investment in low carbon electricity generation,” he said. 

  Published Date: 2020-07-27 

 The most controversial moustache in South Korea has fallen victim to the razor’s blade, with US ambassador Harry Harris visiting a barbershop months after his facial hair became the subject of unusual criticism. Seoul and Washington are security allies and the US stations 28,500 troops in the country but their relationship has been strained in recent years by differences in their approaches to North Korea and cost-sharing responsibilities. Harris has several times been the object of controversy in the South, and accused in some quarters of high-handedness. Even his facial hair became an issue of debate. The envoy’s mother was Japanese and, with Koreans resentful of Tokyo’s 1910-45 colonisation of the peninsula, commentators claimed the moustache alluded to the fashions of imperial governors-general from the period. In January Harris retorted that his grooming was a matter of personal choice, and that his critics were “cherry picking history”. But over the weekend he uploaded a video to social media of him getting the moustache shaved off at a traditional Korean barbershop, saying he did so to keep cool in the Seoul summer, while wearing a mask to fight the coronavirus pandemic. With help from his Senior Advisor @sykimsy, @USAmbROK Harris visited a classic local barbershop to become a little "cooler" during the hot summer months. Curious about how it went? Watch the video to find out more. pic.twitter.com/cpabketRfd — U.S. Embassy Seoul (@USEmbassySeoul) July 25, 2020 “Glad I did this,” the envoy said in tweets in English and Korean. “For me it was either keep the ’stache or lose the mask. Summer in Seoul is way too hot & humid for both. Covid guidelines matter & I’m a masked man!” Seoul and Tokyo are both major US allies, democracies and market economies faced with regional challenges from China and a nuclear-armed North Korea, but are locked in bitter disputes over historical issues. Earlier this year Harris said: “I understand the historical animosity that exists between both of the countries but I’m not the Japanese American ambassador in Korea, I’m the American ambassador to Korea. “And to take that history and put it on me simply because an accident of birth I think is a mistake.” 

  Published Date: 2020-07-27 

 Area locked down on Monday ahead of official 10am handover, a day after crowds gathered to watch US officials prepare to leave Flag lowered at US consulate in Chengdu as China takes control The US flag has been lowered at the US consulate in Chengdu, before the Chinese foreign ministry announced the diplomatic outpost was officially closed at 10am. China on Friday ordered the closure in response to Washington’s order for the Chinese consulate in Houston to be shut. Police in Chengdu restricted access to the area around the consulate on Monday morning, and four officials in personal protective gear could be seen walking towards the consulate at about 10:24am local time. “Chinese authorities entered through the front entrance and took it over,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. Local residents in Chengdu flocked to the consulate on Sunday, taking selfies and waving Chinese flags, as officials prepared to remove its official plaque. US takes Chinese researcher accused of hiding ties with military into custody Read more A constant stream of onlookers in the city of 16.5 million people flowed past the consulate, many taking photos. Tensions between the two countries over trade and the coronavirus rose another notch last week when on Tuesday the US ordered China’s consulate in Texas closed, saying it was a hub of espionage and intellectual property theft. Large numbers of police kept people in Chengdu from getting too close and put a quick stop to any provocative gestures or obvious signs of joy as the Americans left. One passerby launched into a nationalist chant and was quickly silenced, according to a video posted on social media. AFP journalists saw security confiscate a banner. The measures however didn’t stop one person draping a huge Chinese flag from his balcony and shouting “China” into the street. Boos also went up when a bus with tinted windows left the building on Sunday. An attempt to pry the main plaque from the wall of the shuttered consulate with a crowbar, hammer and chisel, failed. Beijing had not given a date for the consulate’s closure, but on Saturday most of the insignia were stripped from the building. Facebook Twitter Pinterest A man works to remove the US consulate plaque in Chengdu, Sichuan province. Photograph: Thomas Peter/Reuters The US has an embassy in Beijing as well as five consulates in mainland China – including the one in Chengdu – plus one in Hong Kong. The Chengdu consulate covered the country’s south-west, including – notably – Tibet. Many Tibetans accuse the central government of religious repression and eroding their culture. Shutting down the consulate, China’s foreign ministry said on Friday, was a “legitimate and necessary response to the unreasonable measures by the United States”. “Some personnel at the US consulate in Chengdu were engaged in activities outside of their capacity, interfered in China’s internal affairs, and endangered China’s security and interests,” spokesman Wang Wenbin said. Facebook Twitter Pinterest A child waves the Chinese national flag outside the US consulate in Chengdu in south-west China on Sunday. Photograph: Ng Han Guan/AP In 2013, China demanded a US explanation after news reports said a top-secret map leaked by fugitive intelligence analyst Edward Snowden showed surveillance facilities at US embassies and consulates worldwide – including at Chengdu. Chinese nationalists had called for a more strident response from the authorities, such as the closure of the US consulate in Hong Kong, a move that would raise tensions further. The semi-autonomous city saw large, rolling pro-democracy protests last year and Beijing has frequently said it suspects the US of being behind the unrest. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday the Chinese consulate in Houston was a “hub of spying and intellectual property theft”. The fourth-largest city in the US, Houston is a major global centre for medical and biological research. Washington officials said attempts to steal secrets in those fields had grown too numerous to ignore. Agence France-Presse contributed to this report 

  Published Date: 2020-07-27 

 Riots took place in Democrat-run cities across the United States on Saturday as Black Lives Matter and Antifa activists took to the streets in solidarity with demonstrators in Portland who have confronted federal law enforcement nightly. Atlanta, Georgia: DESTRUCTIVE PROTESTS: Vandals targeted a federal building (DHS/DOJ) last night. Twitter chatter labeled the damage as an effort to stand in “solidarity” with the “Freedom Fighters” of Portland, where protestors have repeatedly clashed w/agents guarding a federal courthouse. pic.twitter.com/7VNhhsli5Q — Emilie Ikeda (@EmilieIkedaFOX5) July 26, 2020 Vandals attacked a federal building housing the local office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the early hours of Sunday morning. The vandalism was allegedly connected to expressions of solidarity with the Portland riots. Austin,Texas: Clip of the shooting at the protest in Austin Texas from Hiram Gilberto on FB pic.twitter.com/VFbzqfoSff — Anthony Martino (@anthonyfartino) July 26, 2020 A man was shot and killed during a confrontation between Black Lives Matter marchers who had blocked traffic and the driver of a vehicle that was obstructed by the procession. The chaos and panic that resulted was caught on video (above). Denver, Colorado: Rioters attacked a local courthouse and a driver drove through a crowd in Aurora, injuring several peopls. One demonstrator fired a weapon at the driver, according to police, and hit another demonstrator. The rioters set several fires. Los Angeles, California: Demonstrators smashed plate-glass windows at federal buildings and blocked traffic in downtown Los Angeles, one day after Mayor Eric Garcetti had reiterated his solidarity with the demonstrations in Portland, despite ongoing violence there. New York, New York: Thousands marched in New York City in solidarity with the Portland demonstrators. There were violent clashes with police (see above) as demonstrators attacked NYPD vehicles and scuffled with police officers in the streets. Oakland, California: Demonstrations turned violent as rioters attacked police; smashed windows at federal buildings and a bank; and fired fireworks at law enforcement. Marchers held signs such as “End Fascist USA” and “Abolish the Police.” Portland, Oregon: Violent demonstrations continued at the Mark O.Hatfield U.S. Courthouse as rioters set fires and provoked clashes with federal law enforcement, who fired tear gas and left the courthouse itself in pursuit of rioters to disperse the crowd. Seattle, Washington: Police arrested 45 rioters on Saturday in the Capitol Hill neighborhood near the site of the former “CHOP” autonomous zones rioters threw explosives at law enforcement. Several businesses and public buildings were also vandalized. There were protests in several other cities, including Omaha, Nebraska; Richmond, Virginia; and elsewhere. Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak. 

  Published Date: 2020-07-27 

 CIUDAD VICTORIA, Tamaulipas – Cartel gunmen left a severed human head and fired their guns in the air outside of the home of a Mexican border state police investigator. The investigator was behind key enforcement actions against the criminal organization. The threat comes more than a year after a team of cartel gunmen tried to kill the investigator in his home. The gruesome threat took place this week in the northeastern side of Ciudad Victoria, the capital of Tamaulipas, when a group of gunmen believed to be with the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas, left a trash bag with a severed human head and a poster board in the Santa Maria neighborhood. Law enforcement sources consulted by Breitbart Texas revealed that after dumping the head, the gunmen fired several rounds into the air and then fled the scene before authorities could arrive. Once authorities arrived at the house, they opened the black bag and found the human head as well as the poster board. The poster made a direct threat against Jose Trinidad Brambilia Cardenas, an agent with the Public Ministry in Tamaulipas. The threat claimed that the agent allegedly fabricated cases, that they don’t forget, and they would be going after him regardless of time. The message was only signed by an “admirer” and not with the name of a cartel. Law enforcement officials consulted by Breitbart Texas revealed that the working theory points to a threat from the Cartel Del Norest faction of Los Zetas since Brambilia Cardenas led several cases against them and ordered the arrest of one of their key leaders. One of Brambilia Cardenas’ key cases led to him ordering the arrest of Isabel Trevino Morales, the sister of the CDN-Los Zetas supreme leader Miguel Angel (Z-40)Trevino Morales. After her brother’s arrest, Isabel became one of the key leaders in the organization and helped control the border city of Nuevo Laredo. The agent ordered the arrest of several other cartel operators. He ordered the arrest of several Tamaulipas state police officers from a special unit who are allegedly tied to the extrajudicial killing of seven alleged gunmen of the CDN-Los Zetas in Nuevo Laredo. Law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas that on February 21, 2019, a group of CDN-Los Zetas gunmen shot numerous rounds into Brambilia Cardenas’ home while he and his family were inside. The agent managed to shoot one of the gunmen during that attack. The attack on the agent came as Ciudad Victoria began to see a new spike in cartel violence as several drug cartels reignited their fight for control of the region. Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “Francisco Morales” from Tamaulipas. 

  Published Date: 2020-07-27 

 Vandals in Atlanta, Georgia, attacked the federal building that is home to the city’s field office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It appears the vandals broke out windows and sprayed graffiti on the building. Media outlets report that vandals swept through 180 Ted Turner Drive early Sunday morning. They allegedly smashed windows and sprayed graffiti on the building that houses the Atlanta ICE Field Office and other immigration-related federal offices, including an immigration court. Signs left behind by vandals read, “No more peace,” and “No cops, no ICE, no borders,” Fox 5 in Atlanta reported. Fox 5 reporter Emilie Ikeda reported the vandals claimed to “stand in ‘solidarity’ with the ‘Freedom Fighters’ of Portland. DESTRUCTIVE PROTESTS: Vandals targeted a federal building (DHS/DOJ) last night. Twitter chatter labeled the damage as an effort to stand in “solidarity” with the “Freedom Fighters” of Portland, where protestors have repeatedly clashed w/agents guarding a federal courthouse. pic.twitter.com/7VNhhsli5Q — Emilie Ikeda (@EmilieIkedaFOX5) July 26, 2020 Ikeda also reported seeing evidence of “smoke bombs” outside the building on Sunday morning. In a video posted on Twitter by @AcidVitalism, protesters can be heard yelling “Burn it down, burn it down.” It appears the vandals fired incendiary devices at the building and targeted the interior with green lasers. DHS/ICE Field Office ransacked by frontliners in Atlanta in solidarity with the freedom fighters of the #PortlandProtests and every other suffering poor person trying to build a new world.#PortlandSolidarity #GeorgeFloyd #RayshardBrooks #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/kl7t3hiEKA — Acid Vitalist League (@AcidVitalism) July 26, 2020 An earlier post on Twitter by Daniel Hanley, @calamardh, invites people to “rally against fascism in solidarity with Portland.” It sets a start time for the “#AtlantaProtest” as 10:30 p.m. on July 25. In an exclusive interview with Breitbart Texas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan said the individuals in Portland are criminals not protesters. “It is so frustrating when I hear these individuals referred to as demonstrators or protesters,” the commissioner said. “They’re not. They are criminals.” “They are coordinating and planning with wilful intent to destroy federal property and seriously injure federal officers and agents,” Morgan explained. “What they are doing, every single night, they are getting together, they are coordinating, they are organizing with a willful intent to destroy federal property and injure federal agents and officers. They come prepared every single night with deadly weapons, commercial-grade fireworks, lasers, frozen water bottles, rocks, and hammers.” Breitbart Texas reached out to the Federal Protective Services agency responsible for the security of federal buildings including the Atlanta Field Office. “Last evening at 180 Ted Turner Ave, Atlanta, Georgia, several windows of the facility were broken and the facility was spray-painted,” an FPS spokesman said in response. “No arrests were made by federal officers. Information on damages should be referred to the General Services Administration.” Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Face book. Editor’s Note: This article has been updated with a statement from Federal Protective Services officials. 

  Published Date: 2020-07-27 

 HOUSTON, Texas — A federal judge in the Southern District of Texas handed down prison sentences to three men involved in human smuggling and stash house operations. The trio smuggled more than 1,000 people in less than a year into Texas under extremely dangerous conditions. “This is another case that illustrates the dangers of human smuggling and sadly, how Houston is an important hub for it,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Ryan Patrick told Breitbart Texas in response to an inquiry. “Aliens were loaded into boarded-up trailers in July and August heat to be moved from point to point.” U.S. District Court Judge Alfred H. Bennett handed down a 36-month prison sentence to 47-year-old Rene Camacho, a U.S. citizen from Houston, following his December 2019 guilty plea. His sentence also included a 24-month period of supervised release following the completion of his prison term. Two Mexican nationals also pleaded guilty in December to the conspiracy to smuggle and transport illegal aliens. The judge previously sentenced 49-year-old Albino Vargas-Hernandez, a Mexican national who lived in Houston, and 22-year-old Hiram Lamarca-Gonzalez, another Mexican national residing in Houston to 42 and 36 months in prison respectively for their roles in the human smuggling and stash house operations. Prosecutors told the judge the three men carried out a complex human smuggling scheme that utilized multiple drivers to transport illegal aliens. The operators utilized money transmitters and ledgers to keep track of their illicit enterprise that brought in more than $1.4 million in proceeds. “These three individuals operated a vast human smuggling network that preyed on the desperation of foreign nationals hoping to get into the United States,” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Mark Dawson said in a written statement. “In just the last year, they are responsible for smuggling more than 1,000 people into the country. With today’s sentencing, we have sent a resounding message that HSI is committed to aggressively target human smugglers and smuggling organizations who seek to undermine our nation’s immigration laws and victimize people for profit.” Prosecutors proved that the three men engaged in human smuggling from July 9, 2018 to August 22, 2018. During that period investigators reported the smugglers utilized multiple boarded up mobile homes to warehouse their human cargo, Breitbart Texas reported. In addition to the people and money recovered in the investigation, agents recovered multiple firearms. Judge Bennett ordered the forfeiture of a residence valued at $130,000 and $224,774.86 in cash and cashier’s checks seized during the investigation. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officials told Breitbart that Vargas-Hernandez and Lamarca-Gonzalez will be placed in removal proceedings pending the completion of their prison terms. They are currently in federal custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The judge allowed Camacho to remain on bond pending a future surrender date to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. During the month of June, U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick and the Southern District of Texas team of prosecutors carried out 610 immigration prosecutions. The District of Arizona was second with 132 prosecutions on immigration-related cases. Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Face book. 

  Published Date: 2020-07-27 

 Speaking during a presidential news conference this week, Mexican National Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval detailed facts officially known about an “elite group” of Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) after new videos about them circulated last Friday. The releases coincided with the birthday of the cartel’s leader, Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes. He is now the most wanted drug lord in Mexico and the United States. The defense chief said the videos are intended to act as a parade of firepower and armor capabilities. This cartel is officially considered the most violent in Mexico. Sandoval said the elite group was formed in 2019 and is led by Juan Carlos “El 03” González. The Jalisco unit is led by Ricardo “El Doble R” Ruiz Velazco. Sandoval said that the elite forces mainly operate in Michoacán, Guanajuato, and Zacatecas. These states are some of the hardest rocked by turf violence. He also believes the CJNG elites are one of a kind nationally. The chief stated security will be bolstered in Guanajuato and other hotspots to avoid “any situation that could have a negative impact” on the general population. The CJNG has expanded across Mexico at unprecedented speed given its formation in 2010. They are now estimated to have a presence in 24 of the 32 Mexican states. The CJNG’s turf portfolio gives them a global presence in terms of international trade access points. The cartel can directly import methamphetamine precursors from China at some of the nation’s largest sea ports to better mass-produce product intended for U.S. markets. Jaeson Jones is a retired Captain from the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division and a Breitbart Texas contributor. While on duty, he managed daily operations for the Texas Rangers Border Security Operations Center. 

  Published Date: 2020-07-27 

 REYNOSA, Tamaulipas – Poor management and the expenses of a turf war is pushing one faction of the Gulf Cartel into the red. Funding shortfalls are unleashing gunmen onto the general populace with a recent local spike in armed robberies and carjackings. Gas stations, corner stores, and unsuspecting motorists are the latest victims of the Metros faction as a way to access quick cash for its turf war machine. Mexican federal law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas that the cartel has been running short of money very often in recent days. In some cases, lookouts and gunmen have gone unpaid for several weeks. Instead of covering salaries, local leaders giving permission to carry out petty crimes on civilians. Cartel gunmen are also carrying out carjackings and highway robberies particularly near the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge. Several turned violent. One of the most dramatic robberies took place in early April when gunmen led by Marco Polo “El Gordo Brackets” Aviles Gallardo who stormed a beer depot called El Yogi. The gunmen barged into the business, robbed the place, and fatally shot seven employees. In the aftermath, the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office managed to track down Aviles. He remains behind bars as authorities continue hunting his accomplices. Surveillance videos from the robbery appear to show Gallardo walking around the business shooting each of the victims repeatedly with an AK-47. Information provided to Breitbart Texas by Mexican federal law enforcement sources revealed that the mass shooting started as a robbery. The beer depot was the operational hub of several retail stores with the same name. The day before, employees collected earnings from various stores. The gunmen are believed to have been after $500,000 pesos ($23,000 USD). While Gallardo was heading the operation, he had the express permission of the regional leadership of Los Metros. Authorities are still working to determine what led the gunmen to transition from robbery to mass murder. Historically, the Metros faction was considered a strong organization profiting from the smuggling of drugs and migrants into Texas. Infighting, poor management, and the constant rival attacks have greatly weakened their standing. Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com. Tony Aranda from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report 

  Published Date: 2020-07-27 

 Rio Grande Valley Sector U.S. Border Patrol agents and Hidalgo County Constables Office (HCCO) Precinct 4 deputies teamed up to disrupt a stash house operation occurring in a rural neighborhood near Mission, Texas. While investigating a residence believed to be operating as a stash house on July 22, agents observed a vehicle leave the residence with numerous people inside. Constable deputies conducted a vehicle stop and identified six occupants in the vehicle as foreign nationals illegally in the United States. Agents and deputies returned to the residence and located a small structure in the back yard which held an additional 16 people found to also be in the country illegally. The foreign nationals all came to the U.S. from the countries of Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, according to information obtained from U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. This story reads like a routine criminal investigation in South Texas. Photographs of the stash house tell a much more in-depth story of human suffering. The old saying a picture is worth a thousand words make sense when presented before someone who has been to countless stash houses during their law enforcement career. A Border Patrol agent assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Sector looked at the following photographs and described to Breitbart the conditions he saw and how they compared to stash house operations he previously encountered The agent immediately noticed the lack of windows along one side of the structure. Instead, there appeared to be a painted sheet of plywood covering what was most likely a window or door at one time. This is designed to prevent escape, the agent explained. The agent also observed no exterior lighting under the overhangs and only one window covered by burglar bars on the outside. Why is everything boarded and barred? Two reasons, the agent explained, no electricity or to keep those held inside from getting out. The agent said the small air conditioning window units are commonly seen at stash houses but, “in my experience,” rarely work. If they do have them, most smugglers would not allow them to run the A/C because of the cost. They do not care enough about the people they are smuggling, the agent said. They are treated as sub-human in most cases we work. Wires dangling from the TV dish are just hanging down, not even connected to anything. No windows were located near the only entrance observed for the structure, the agent continued. When you open the door to a typical stash house you rarely see any furniture — only mattresses lining the floor beyond the path of the door’s ability to swing inward — one after another. The agent explained this is a very common theme in human smuggling stash houses. It is also common for smugglers to take migrants’ shoes and often clothing from the migrants so they cannot escape. They use it as a form of punishment or intimidation in some cases. In the south Texas brush, everything has a thorn so you are not getting far without shoes on your feet, the agent explained. Last week Breitbart reported a similar incident in neighboring Starr County, Texas, where Border Patrol agents working in collaboration with the sheriff’s office made entry into a residence and rescued 23 migrants inside held against their will by an armed gunman. Officials responded to the stash house after a victim called for help via a cell phone. They were all rescued safely, according to law enforcement. Officials reported the migrants to be from Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. There is another factor unseen in these photographs — the extreme heat of the South Texas summer. Many of these structures have no running water or bathroom facilities. It is common for migrants to be forced to use buckets or only be allowed to go outside during the night to relieve themselves and quickly return. The mistreatment of men, women, and children is a common theme told to U.S. law enforcement once removed from the prying eyes of the smugglers. Stories of beatings and rapes during their journey to the U.S. add another layer of trauma that agents need to contend with while fighting to end human smuggling along the southwest border. In April 2016, Breitbart’s Brandon Darby and Bob Price reported on the abuses of migrants throughout the human smuggling process. The article explains the series of stash houses migrants are forced into along the human smuggling pathways. It also highlights the sexual abuse of women and assaults on men held in multiple stash houses as they move from Central America through Mexico and into the U.S. interior. Jaeson Jones is a retired Captain from the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division and a Breitbart Texas contributor. While on duty, he managed daily operations for the Texas Rangers Border Security Operations Center.