Americans are fleeing the Antelope Valley as the invasion of 500 illegal marijuana grows brings violent crime, natural resource depletion and human trafficking to the once small-town community. Former KHTS intern Jorge Ventura brings us the nasty details in his new documentary: Cartelville USA.

Ventura uncovers the very real repercussions of illegal marijuana grows in Cartelville USA, a documentary providing video evidence of cartel-related standoffs, in-depth footage of greenhouse farms and interviews with those affected the most.

The documentary follows the largest illegal grow bust in L.A. County history when the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department uncovered and bulldozed “one of the largest illegal drug operations happening in the backyard of the high deserts of Los Angeles” in June, according to Congressman Mike Garcia (R-Santa Clarita).

It took a while for officials to identify the problem of the water crisis that threatened over 300 homes across the Antelope Valley, according to officials.

Tapped fire hydrants and improperly closed valves tinkered with by water thieves, working with illegal marijuana operations, have put local potato and alfalfa sprout farmers out of business, contributing to the increased unemployment rate in the area.

The grow bust in June resulted in 23 arrests, five seized firearms, and tons of marijuana plants confiscated from one property with 74 greenhouses and a second property with $50 million worth of marijuana, according to narcotics officials.

“We started this process months back when we were starting to get lots of complaints from residents out here in the high desert and we were getting a lot of complaints of how illegal marijuana grows were impacting life here,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said in a conference following the grow bust. “People were getting threatened, water was being stolen from farmers to the point where there are farms going out of business because they cannot afford the water.”

​​Since 2020, the number of illegal marijuana grows have increased from 150 in the high desert to significantly higher than 500, according to Villanueva.

See Related: 74 Greenhouses Worth Over $50 Million Bulldozed In Largest Illegal Grow Bust In L.A. County History

The press conference revealed the escalating problems of illegal marijuana grows, but Ventura was insistent on uncovering the extent of the problem that continues to occur in the backyard of his childhood town.

​​“As this continues with these cartels, they take the communities and turn them into ghost towns,” Ventura said in the documentary. “We have already seen three or four communities in the Valley of Antelope and San Bernardino County that were completely taken over by these cartels and alienated families.”

A resident of the Antelope Valley, who wished to remain anonymous throughout the documentary, confirmed that there are at least 50 growing operations just five miles away from her home.

Since the grow bust on June 8, an inter-agency law enforcement operation uncovered additional grows in the area, amounting to “the largest operation ever conducted in LASD’s history.”

More than 200 grows were uncovered and 375,000 marijuana plants and 33,000 pounds of marijuana were seized in the July operations, according to LASD officials.

“These marijuana grows are either connected to Mexican cartels or high-level criminal organizations that use human trafficking to work these grows,” Ventura said. “On this grow, there are five Chinese nationals that were working these grows that are undocumented, don’t speak any English, and were most likely human trafficked here into the United States to work on these illegal grow operations.”

Not only impacting crucial farming resources and human trafficking, illegal marijuana grows are linked with violent crime including but not limited to two cartel-related murders in 2020 as well as the discovery of a murder victim found buried in the desert near Lake Los Angeles in 2021, according to Villanueva.

“On behalf of the residents here in the high desert, it is our obligation to put an end to this,” Villanueva said during July’s press conference.

Ventura is dependent on the documentary to call on Governor Gavin Newsom to reform Proposition 64 which decreased marijuana cultivation penalties from a felony to a $500 fine as well as reach President Joe Biden to encourage the tightening of southern border controls, decreasing cartel activity.

To watch the full documentary, click here.

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.