one last big ride on their jet skis before they come back to colorado, and colorado doesn t have the water, what they have around there. so, yeah. one last time to have a good time. reporter: it is a two-hour drive to falcon lake from mccallon. a trip documented by a traffic stop halfway there in a town called rio grande city. something to the police looked suspicious. right, right. reporter: it looked like somebody might be steeling some jet skis. the trailer had expired tags. troopers let them go with just a warning, but this videotape would become part of the evidence for what was about to happen. you come to any strange area in the united states, mexico border, and you go to sightseeing, you re a tourist, stop in and talk to the locals. you know?
army has visibly taken over much of the security any border towns. local mexican police who are not corrupted by the cartels are targets of them. thousands killed. and americans have been targets, too. you know, i almost think that we re flying over tribal pakistan, the way you describe this area. are you surprised or are you hardened to the fact that most of america doesn t realize this is going on ask. you know, it does amaze me, and maybe it s because i m exposed to it so much work okay the southwestern border, but we re in a war. we re in an engagement with an enemy that s like no other enemy we ever faced before. you have to combat these people with some of the same tact ticks that they employ on you. if you asked me ten years ago would we be doing some of the tact ticks and missions we re doing today, i would have said, absolutely not. reporter: since 2004, the state department says 200 americans have been killed in mexico and nearly all caught up in the vicious firefights
in the face and stole his money. reporter: david, she says, saw someone get shot on the street. did you sense it was getting more dangerous? you could. yeah. you could sense it. you d hear more about it. reporter: what did they look like? describe how you would pick out a cartel member. their trucks at that time had their name. the cdt or the z for the zetas. they had actually marked their vehicles with their name and who they were. reporter: david convinced his company to allow him at least to live on the american side of the border in mccallon. soon afterwards, the company told david he was being offered another transfer, back home to colorado. to his mom that was a blessing. they were going to be home that next week looking for a house to move into. i mean, we were excited about them coming home.
there has been a lot of suspicions based on some of her behaviors. tonight, a cnn special report. murder in mexico: what happened at falcon lake. it s late afternoon in mccallon, texas. air operations are about to begin. there are areas mccallon, west of mccallon along the southwest border that are completely out of control in my opinion. reporter: captain stacy holland and his team from the texas department of public safety are trying to stop drug smugglers from crossing from mexico into the u.s. right there, right there. one guy s gotten out.
suspicions based on some of her behaviors. tonight, a cnn special report. murder in mexico: what happened at falcon lake. reporter: it s late afternoon in mccallon, texas. air operations are about to begin. there are areas mccallon, west of mccallon along the southwest border that are completely out of control in my opinion. reporter: captain stacy holland and his team from the texas department of public safety are trying to stop drug smugglers from crossing from mexico into the u.s.