Family member of infants burned alive by cartel thanks Trump for crackdown: 'Hopeful for the first time'

A woman whose sister, nieces and nephews were gunned down and burned alive by the Juarez cartel is now speaking out in support of President Donald Trump's crackdown on cartel violence, saying she is "very hopeful for the first time in a long time."

Speaking with Fox News Digital, Adriana Jones, president of American Families Against Cartel Terrorism, shared the story of how her sister, Maria "Rhonita" LeBaron, and nieces and nephews, Howie, 12, Krystal, 10, and 8-month-old twins Titus and Tiana, were killed by Mexican cartel members in November 2019. Jones said the family had been driving to Phoenix and was just 70 miles south of Mexico's border with Arizona.

"Gunmen opened fire on their vehicle, killing everybody in it, and then lit it on fire when they were gunned down. So, they were burned, most likely still alive," she explained. "There were two other vehicles that had been driving along that same route, family members, that two other mothers were murdered along with two more children, and there were seven surviving children, all gunned down, all American citizens, all right there along the border."

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Since then, Jones said her family has been "fighting for justice in every way we can."

Through her advocacy, she said she has found that her family's tragedy is "not a one-off" and that "all along the border you see this kind of stuff happening every single day," whether it involves cartel violence, human trafficking or deadly fentanyl trafficking.

"No American family should ever have to suffer the way that my family has suffered," she said. "I held their bodies. I watched what the cartels did to them. I know how evil they are."

"American families are dying every single day because of cartel violence," she added. "America really needs to know what's happening." 

Until recently, however, Jones said that it felt like fighting "a brick wall."

"There was almost zero movement," she said. "No matter how much we pushed, no matter how much we traveled, no matter how many doors we knocked on, and finally, in these last few months, you've just seen a lot of movement on this issue. People are finally waking up, truly understanding."

After the Trump Department of Justice announced that Sinaloa Cartel boss and former Juarez boss Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada pleaded guilty Monday to leading a criminal enterprise and racketeering, Jones said she finally felt a glimmer of hope in her fight for American families at the border.

Jones thanked Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the "entire Trump administration" for holding the cartels accountable. 

"I wasn't expecting actually to be as emotional as I was and to be impacted when I watched it live. And I'm going to be honest with you, I felt very, very hopeful for the first time in a long time," she explained. 

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"Listening to that press conference and just seeing the work that has been done under this administration, I'm honestly so hopeful," she went on. "I truly believe that cartels can and should be eradicated."

Tearing up, Jones noted, "It was a very, very emotional day for me."

Though the Trump administration has taken heavy criticism for its crackdown on illegal immigration, Jones said, "I feel like the current administration is the first time we've seen any real movement on this issue."

"Understanding just how big it is and how many American lives are affected every day, I'm truly hopeful for the first time in a long time that we can actually make a difference and we can actually get those numbers to start trending down and just save American families."

Despite this, Jones said there is still much that needs to be done to put an end to cartel violence against American families. She noted that though the Trump administration has designated eight cartels and criminal groups as "foreign terrorist organizations," the cartel that killed her family, the Juarez Cartel, and its subgroup known as "La Linea," have not yet been labeled terrorist groups.

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"It is disheartening," she admitted. "We actually have a judgment in U.S. courts against these cartels that were naming them terrorists in that judgment. So, it seemed like a very easy step to just include them on that list."

"They shot my 12-year-old nephew point-blank, they burned eight-month-old twins. These are terrorists, and they definitely need to be on that list," she said, adding, "I'm going to keep on knocking on doors until I get those answers."

Jones urged other American families who have been victims of cartel violence to join in her efforts.

"Each victim has their own story. Every family has their own heartache. And so, to use that heartache to actually make a difference to help is what we're looking to do," she explained. "The world needs to hear your stories. America needs your stories."