TGL046 CORY GAUTEREAUX

What happens when a national-security crisis reaches your own backyard—and you refuse to look away?

In this Thin Green Line episode of Warden’s Watch, John Nores and Wayne Saunders welcome Cory Gautereaux, founder of The GOAT Initiative, for a firsthand look at border security, intelligence gathering, human trafficking and environmental crime along the California–Mexico border.

Cory is a San Diego County native, U.S. Army veteran, Christian, husband, father of two daughters and small-business owner. He grew up exploring the same East County trails where he now conducts field operations.

Before founding The GOAT Initiative, Cory served as a UH-60 Black Hawk crew chief and door gunner. He later worked as a respiratory therapist on rapid-response and trauma teams.

When the border surge reached his rural community, Cory began finding discarded passports, children’s identification documents, abandoned cellphones and evidence of cartel activity. He also encountered individuals identified as Special Interest Aliens. Recognizing that valuable intelligence was being left behind, Cory created The GOAT Initiative to document it and deliver actionable information to local, state and federal law-enforcement agencies.

The GOAT Initiative now operates a 24/7 intelligence effort focused on trafficking networks, smuggling routes and potential homeland-security threats. Cory has testified before Congress and briefed senior officials in Washington on border security, human trafficking and related national-security concerns.

The conversation also examines illegal cannabis operations and their effects on California’s water, wildlife and wildlands. Cory describes suspected water theft, destroyed vegetation, hazardous chemicals and troubling conditions reportedly found where workers were living. John draws upon his decades investigating cartel-operated grow sites to explain how these crimes affect ecosystems, rural communities and already-limited enforcement resources.

In this episode:

• How The GOAT Initiative began• Cory’s work along the California–Mexico border• Discarded passports, children’s IDs and recovered cellphones• Special Interest Aliens and potential homeland-security threats• Using trail cameras and community knowledge to gather intelligence• Human trafficking and organized smuggling networks• Communication gaps among local, state and federal agencies• Illegal cannabis operations and suspected water theft• Damage to wildlife, waterways and wildlands• Labor-