GOP Rep. Biggs proposes 'southbound interdiction operations' at border to stop arms trading

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., proposed "southbound interdiction operations" to stop illegal arms trading by the Mexican cartels at the southern border.

"We see far more cross-border traffic going north in between the ports of entry, including the areas where they're getting away," Biggs said on the Tuesday edition of the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show.

"We see very few people going back," he added. "They're taking money. They're laundering money and taking cash back through the ports of entry and they're taking guns back. Every time we've done a port of entry southbound operation, usually for very short periods of time, we've had tremendous success interdicting weapons and money."

According to CBS News, intelligence documents came out last year that showed Mexican drug cartels paying Americans to smuggle weapons across the border.  Officials told the outlet that the U.S. government is aware of the issue, but has taken few steps to address it.

Biggs asserted that in some areas of Mexico, the government is under the control of the cartels. 

"The cartels are so  well armed now, and quite frankly ... we had this report about six weeks ago ... normally the corruption is that the the government is taking bribes to protect the criminal," he explained. "In this instance, however, many cities or villages and towns of Mexico, you're actually seeing that the cartels control the government and the government is having to pay protection money to the cartels."