Inside Cartel Operations in Arizona with Former SWAT Commander Matthew Thomas from Change Agents with Andy Stumpf

Inside Cartel Operations in Arizona with Former SWAT Commander Matthew Thomas

1 hour 6 minutes Posted Mar 11, 2026 at 9:38 pm.

) The Operation to Take Out El Mencho

) Pinal County’s Role in the Cartel Wars

) The State of Border Security

) Tunnel Systems Run by Cartels

) Going Undercover to Fight Cartels

) U.S. Citizens Working for Cartels

) Sicario vs. Rip Team Battles

) Cartel Members Getting Military Training

) Cartel Human Trafficking Operations

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Show notes

On this episode of Change Agents, Andy Stumpf talks with Matthew Thomas about cartel operations in Arizona, how cartels recruit members in the U.S., the brutality of cartel operations and more.

Matthew Thomas is a retired Chief Deputy at the Pinal County Sheriff's Office in Arizona, where he led the regional SWAT team for 18 years. He frequently went undercover during anti-cartel operations.

He is the author of “Interceptors: The Untold Fight Against the Mexican Cartels.”

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