U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced June 14 that the Combating Cartels on Social Media Act, a measure she and U.S. Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) had introduced, was approved by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
According to Sinema's website, the bill is a response to reports that the cartels use social media as recruitment platforms for human and drug trafficking operations in the U.S.
“Cartels lure Arizona teenagers through social media into dangerous and illegal activities with the promise of easy cash, putting Arizonans’ lives at serious risk," Sinema said on her website. "I’m proud our legislation cracking down on this criminal activity to keep families safe, hold social media platforms accountable and secure our border moves one step closer to becoming law.”
Sinema and Lankford's legislation that would impose a requirement on the Department of Homeland Security to enhance its monitoring of cartels on social media platforms. In addition to its passage from the committee, it has also seen support from several senators, Just the News reported.
Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, shared his support of the legislation.
“Many Americans are not aware of the fact that the drug cartels in Mexico, (which) have no regard for human life, are routinely using social media platforms to recruit Americans to assist them with their smuggling operations," he said, according to Sinema's website. "We see teenagers, some of whom are not even old enough to have a driver’s license, lured into transporting illegal narcotics and aliens. The cartels promise easy money and thrill."
According to NBC News 12, law enforcement officials in Cochise County, Arizona, have noticed an increase in this sort of recruitment.
“We see it all the time,” Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels said, according to NBC News 12. From January through May, Dannels’ department arrested 21 teenagers for crimes related to the border, and 89 in 2022, all teenagers who were arrested for drugs or human trafficking.
“The majority of parents or guardians, when we call them, they have no idea their child is in Cochise County committing an international crime,” Dannels told NBC News 12. “Kids should be out playing sports, be home with mom and dad, playing with their brothers and friends, instead of in Cochise County committing serious crimes.”
Michael Vigil, previously head of the International Operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said cartels use platforms such as Snapchat, WhatsApp, Facebook, TikTok and even video game chats. The payment offered by the cartels is often far more than the teens would make working a typical job. According to the the NBC report, the average pay per person transported is between $1,200 and $2,500.
According to Fox 2 Now, the cartels use social media to transport illegal drugs. In May, when the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) St. Louis Division seized more than $100 million in assets and arrested thousands from the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels. The cartels supposedly use social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Signal to schedule deliveries and communicate with teens.
