Sheriff Paul Babeu, who oversees Arizona’s Pinal County, has issued a dire warning to those seeking to enjoy the numerous recreational sites situated in the western part of the county this holiday weekend: carry a gun, because Mexican drug cartel assassins are on the loose.

The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office says it is in possession of credible information indicating that cartels are sending assassins to his jurisdiction to address the problems they’ve been facing at the hands of so-called “rip crews,” rogue gangs that attack cartel operatives and steal their cash and drugs. Pinal County has recently seen an overall increase in drug cartel-related violence, to include a rise in the number of armed showdowns between deputies and drug runners.

In a defiant press release, Babeu said, “We are taking this threat seriously and believe that the public and my deputies deserve to know that there is an elevated risk of encountering gun violence in certain areas of Pinal County. It’s a distressing reality that President Obama is unwilling to protect the public from armed incursions across the border and well into Arizona. We have been fighting the Sinaloa Cartel violence in Arizona for years. We’ve arrested 21 of their scouts and many more smugglers last year, we are seizing thousands of pounds of their drugs and yet Obama’s response is to erect signs that warn American citizens that it’s not safe to travel. I’m telling our citizens that want to enjoy the outdoors to travel armed and not let these drug cartels think they have any control over American soil.”

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large