Nicholas Quets comes from generations of United States Armed Forces service members. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps, his father, sister, and brother-in-law all served in the military, and his grandfather served in World War II.
During an interview with Nicholas’s father Doug Quets and his brother-in-law Philip Sweet, they told Breitbart News of Nicholas’s love of God, family, country, and service — principles deeply rooted in this all-American family from Tuscon, Arizona.
“He was born in 1993,” Doug says of his 31-year-old son. “Ever since he was a little kid, he always wanted to join the military. That’s how he ended up in the military and working for Pima County, Arizona. He was a protector of other people — he was a tall guy, 6’3″, muscles stacked on top of muscles.”
Both describe Nicholas’s true passion above all else, his two-and-a-half-year-old nephew, with whom he hoped to one day share his love of fixing cars and motorcycles.
“He was the most proud of being an uncle,” Philip says. “Nick was my son’s favorite person in the world. My son would light up whenever Nick was around. He was the light of my son’s life and my son was the light of Nick’s life.”
Philip says he never imagined that his son would grow up without his Uncle Nick.
Nicholas Quets with his nephew. (Photos via the Quets Family)
On Friday, Oct. 18, Nicholas departed from Pima County and drove to Nogales, Arizona, to pick up a few friends for a beach trip to Rocky Point Beach — a popular destination for Nicholas and other American tourists.
Rocky Point, for those unfamiliar, is known as “Arizona’s Beach” because of its proximity to the Grand Canyon State. Doug and Philip told Breitbart News that Nicholas was very familiar with Rocky Point and the area because he was an adventurous outdoorsman who loved the water and hiking trails.
Unbeknownst to the Quets family — likely along with most Americans — Nicholas used a highway that had recently experienced Mexican drug cartel violence with little-to-no national news coverage by the American media.
Two months before Nicholas’s trip to Rocky Point, two female U.S. residents — a 72- and 82-year-old — were murdered while driving the Caborca highway.
About halfway on his drive to Rocky Point, Nicholas was stopped at a roadblock along the highway. Mexican drug cartel gunmen opened fire on Nicholas, shooting him in the back and through his heart. He died at the scene.
Nicholas Quets in his U.S. Marine Corps uniform. (Photos via the Quets Family)
An altar in honor of Nicholas Quets at his family home. (Photos via the Quets Family)
Two arrests have been made since then. Nicholas’s murder was not a robbery gone wrong. The cash he was carrying was left behind and nothing was taken off his person, but the cartel gunmen did steal his truck.
In the middle of the night, Doug says the U.S. Consulate in Mexico called him to tell him Nicholas had been murdered. Likewise, federal agents with the State Department made contact with the Quets family.
Days later, by Monday morning, Doug and Philip say they expected to be contacted by a range of local and national media as well as Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) and their Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ).
Instead, they heard nothing.
“We feel like we have a voice in the government. We feel like if we can be ignored, anybody can be ignored,” Doug says.
As the Quets made contact with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents about Nicholas’s murder, Doug and Philip say they expected a call from Attorney General Merrick Garland’s office, President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris. Instead, nothing.
“I was shocked by this,” Doug said. “This is an American killed on the other side of the border … you’d think this would be a major news story, you’d think.”
“Here we are, a week and a half later, we’ve not heard from our governor, our senators, the attorney general, this administration. No one has reached out to our family,” Philip says. “Another thing too, I have no doubt in my mind, in the presidential daily briefing, there was a note about an American citizen being murdered in Mexico by suspected cartel members.”
The Quets are particularly appalled by the lack of response or action from Kelly and his office, noting that he too is a veteran having served in the U.S. Navy with combat missions in Operation Desert Storm.
“Kelly ran on his military background, but we’ve heard nothing from him,” Doug says.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrive at the Bisbee Douglas International Airport in Douglas, Arizona, on September 27, 2024. (REBECCA NOBLE/AFP via Getty Images)
For the Quets, they were being ignored by the very politicians they served to protect. That was until they were put in touch with Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), former President Donald Trump’s running mate, by Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ).
Vance arrived in Tuscon on Oct. 22 to hold a campaign rally. The Quets went to the rally not knowing what to expect from a sitting U.S. senator representing a state 2,000 miles away from their home.
Before the rally kicked off, Vance met with the Quets.
“Vance was the most incredibly normal guy you could ever meet,” Doug says. “Within ten seconds of us talking, we’re getting down to business about what happened to Nicholas. He asked us, what can he do about it, U.S. involvement in the investigation, extradition of those who are responsible, going after the Mexican drug cartel network as well, and U.S. policy to prevent this in the future.”
Vance asked the Quets if he could share Nicholas’s story at the rally. The family, Doug says, said, “of course, yes.”
“I want to talk about something that hasn’t gotten much news coverage and it’s connected to this border issue. And I want to name this family and this young man by name … just a few days ago, there was a United States Marine veteran who was killed by the Mexican drug cartels,” Vance said:
What the cartels are doing, my friends, it’s not just affecting us north of the border, it’s affecting north and south of the border. It’s affecting a young Marine who wants to visit friends and spend some time on the beach. [Emphasis added]
This family lost their son four days ago. Have they heard from a single elected official? Of course, they haven’t … because we’re led by incompetent people who don’t give a damn about the American people and that’s going to change when the United States is led by Donald Trump. [Emphasis added]
Most significantly, Vance vowed to the Quets, “While you’ve been ignored by your own government for the last four days in the midst of this unbelievable tragedy, I promise you, the calvary is coming, and when Donald Trump is president, we’re going to kick the cartels asses and we’re going to do it for you and for every person in this room.”
Philip Sweet and Doug Quets stand alongside Sen. JD Vance (R-OH). (Photos via the Quets Family)
Vance, Doug and Philip say, was a “complete gentleman” and “the most incredibly normal guy you could ever meet,” far from the “weird” trope that the corporate media has attempted to label him.
“He was 100 percent genuine,” Philip said of Vance. “It was obvious we were meeting with someone who cared about our family and was so knowledgeable about the border issue.”
Nicholas’s story left such an impression on Vance that the next morning, the Trump campaign personally invited the Quets to the former president’s Oct. 24 rally in Tempe, Arizona. After arriving at the rally with special guest seats, the Quets met with Trump whom they say wanted to hear all about their son and what happened to him.
“He was one of the most normal and genuine people I’ve ever met,” Doug says. “We’re still grieving Nicholas at this point, and Trump actually had tears in his eyes. He said, ‘Oh my gosh, this is terrible, tell me what happened,’ and he was legitimately upset.”
Like with Vance, the Quets explained that they want U.S. involvement in the investigation, extradition for prosecution and incarceration, and a functioning border relationship between the U.S. and Mexico.
Perhaps most prominently, Doug told Breitbart News, is one request he made to Trump: For his son-in-law, Philip, who is a federal officer, to handcuff Nicholas’s killers when they are extradited to the U.S.
“If I’m elected, I can make that happen,” Trump told the Quets.
The Quets with former President Donald Trump in Tempe, Arizona. (Photos via Quets Family)
At his rally that evening, Trump acknowledged Nicholas and the Quets, pointing them out in the crowd and telling the story of their family’s great loss, which was followed by a standing ovation from the crowd. Like Vance, he made commitments to hold the cartel gunmen responsible to the fullest extent of the law.
After their meeting with Trump, Doug and Philip say they still had not heard from any other elected officials so they figured they would reach out to Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign as her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s (D), scheduled a rally for Phoenix, Arizona, on Oct. 26.
When the Quets sought to attend Walz’s rally, they were told there were no tickets available.
The day before Walz’s rally, President Joe Biden was in the Phoenix area as well. The Biden camp did not reach out to the Quets. The president attended an event where he made a formal apology to American Indians.
Doug and Philip told Breitbart News that he feels like the Biden-Harris administration is more concerned with problems around the world than with what is happening right next door to American communities. It is a sentiment that is reiterated throughout the interview.
“Right in our backyard, we’ve got this narco-terrorism problem, and yet we’re sending billions to wars thousands of miles away and we’re not putting the interests of the United States first,” Philip says.
“It’s 100 percent okay for us to have 25 million illegal migrants in the U.S., but for Nick to go an hour south of the border, that’s a death sentence,” Doug says, backing up Philip’s point.
Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) visits Savannah to encourage and mobilize Georgians to vote early and in person for Vice President Harris in Savannah, Georgia, on October 29, 2024. (Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images)
U.S. President Joe Biden is introduced by Gila River Indian Tribe Governor Stephen Roe Lewis at Gila Crossing Community School on October 25, 2024, in Laveen, Arizona. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
In an election year, the Quets believe Nicholas’s murder in Mexico is being suppressed for the sake of helping one political party retain power and keeping Trump and Vance out of the White House. To them, there is no other explanation as to why elected officials have steered clear of even reaching out to their family or bringing awareness to the case.
For now, they are grateful for two men who did reach out — when no one else would.
“I can’t tell you who to vote for and what to do,” Doug says. “We have suffered a tragic loss and none of my elected officials reached out to me.”
“On the other side, a senator from Ohio took 15 minutes in the busiest time in his life to talk to my family. And a former president did the same. If you care about leadership, these two men were amazing,” he says with confidence.
Nicholas’s family and friends have launched a GoFundMe, which will establish the Nicholas Douglas Quets Memorial Scholarship for students pursuing welding and fabrication schooling, trades he loved.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
