W hile the MAGA crowd calls the District of Columbia “The Swamp,” the arid plains and rolling hills of Southeastern Arizona, sadly, are starting to resemble a cesspool. If you are looking to understand the culture of cronyism emanating from this Trump administration — and, in particular, its obsession with the border, immigration and the militarization of law enforcement — you only need to kick over a rock in the high desert of Cochise County. Located in the southeast corner of the state, the square-shaped county comprises 6,200 square miles, high desert grasslands, the Sky Island mountain ranges and only about 125,000 people. It draws its share of sunscreen-caked tourists, who flock to visit Tombstone and the mining-town-turned- hippie-enclave-turned-gentrified-yuppie- bubble of Bisbee. But that somewhat sleepy reality has been changing in recent years. In 2022, the county made national news when two of the county’s three supervisors — one of whom had also been present at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection — refused to certify the results of that year’s elections, resulting in the indictments of both. Consecutive elections directors resigned, citing the toxic state of disinformation in Cochise County. Seemingly at the center of much of the county’s insanity and rising MAGA notoriety — or at least very near to it — is the border. The wild west call of the border has drawn a certain kind of person to the county, which has had its share of border vigilantism. The siren of the border warrior seems to have only grown, and many have followed, including some with very deep pockets and political connections. The border is big business in Cochise County. For 84 straight-as-an-arrow miles, many of them covered by a massive steel bollard border wall, the county butts up against Mexico. Stark and imposing, the wall makes a great backdrop for photo opportunities. And there is no creature who loves photo ops more than politicians. Every election season, Republicans and Democrats alike make a pilgrimage to the county’s section of border wall, where — flanked by the same handful of right-wing ranchers — they intone gravely about the importance of border security. In 2024, Kamala Harris campaigned in proximity to the razor-wire-festooned wall separating Cochise County border town Douglas from Agua Prieta, Sonora. Donald Trump stood at a podium and gesticulated, set against the backdrop of the big beautiful wall he ordered built (or replaced, given that most of the county’s border wall has existed since the days of George W. Bush) in his first term. Seated at the nexus of that political atten- tion has been Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels. Known today for his rising influ- ence in both Arizona and national law enforcement circles — and, unfortunately, less known for his ties to far-right extremists and the often dubious nature of his border security claims — Dannels owes his position to the border and a bottle of peppermint schnapps. He won election as sheriff in 2012 after his predecessor, Larry Dever, died in a drunk driving misadventure. Dannels’ juris- diction contains fewer people than live in the Phoenix exurb of Goodyear, yet the county’s strip of border allows the 61-year-old to wield outsized influence. Dannels is a former president of the Arizona Sheriffs’ Association and the current president of the Western States Sheriffs’ Association. He’s a key player in Operation Desert Guardian, created in early 2025 by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, and also serves on Trump’s Homeland Security Advisory Council. Now, in the midst of the second Trump administration — with ballooning immigration enforcement budgets and an ongoing effort to militarize the border — Dannels is both reaping the rewards and helping to dish them out. Documents obtained by Cochise Regional News and Phoenix New Times show how Dannels and his agency are greasing the wheels of border security business, raking in federal money and potentially helping to line the pockets of some of Trump’s pals. Public records show that the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office recently received a million-dollar federal grant from the Department of Homeland Security, largely and ostensibly to serve federal immigration warrants in the county jail. However, at least a quarter of that grant appears to be earmarked, at least in part, for Dannels’ travel to conferences — many of which may be held at casinos and resorts. The grant award specifically notes that Dannels, through many groups that put on such events, spreads the gospel of “standing united and border security.” Further, as CRN and New Times will explore next week, Dannels has seemingly used his public office to advertise for drone company and private defense contractor Draganfly. The campaign has not only bene- fited the profit-driven corporation in its quest to land contracts under Trump’s reign — including from the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense — but has also likely personally enriched one of the corporation’s newest board members and others receiving equity compensation. Among this defense contractor’s board members is a Trump ally who served in a Project 2025 leadership posi- tion and seems to have provided guidance to a shadowy Project 2025 group of Trump acolytes who, ahead of the 2024 election, wrote blueprints for Trump’s mass deporta- tion agenda. CRN and New Times first reported the existence of those plans in May. Also involved in that effort: Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels. Dannels is a small cog in a much larger MAGA machine, but his activities in Cochise County illustrate how influence and money work in the Trump administration. It’s a world in which loyalty to the administration is seemingly subsidized with federal tax dollars, and in which public officeholders work to boost private corporations with ties to the machinery that, in turn, boosts Trump. Hopping in bed with ICE Earlier this year, Congress handed a whopping $75 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As a result, ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, are flush with money to shower on Trump’s most loyal servants. Cochise County has lined up at that trough. The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office got $1 million to coordinate with ICE — including $250,000 in mysterious “travel” money. BY BEAU HODAI Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels speaks at a Trump campaign event at the U.S.-Mexico border on Aug. 22, 2024. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images) Cochise Cronyism
