New Legislation Aims to Curb Cartel Influence on Social Media
In a bid to tackle the alarming trend of Mexican cartels using social media platforms to lure American teens into cross-border crime, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly and Congressman Juan Ciscomani have introduced significant legislation. This proposed law seeks to mandate the Department of Homeland Security to craft a national strategy targeting cartels’ social media activities.
The legislation further requires social media companies to actively report suspicious recruiting activities to law enforcement agencies. According to a 2022 DEA report, drug traffickers exploit popular platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube for their operations, posting advertisements that often vanish quickly or hide behind encrypted emojis and ephemeral stories.
Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers made a historic seizure of approximately 4 million blue fentanyl pills in Tucson, a testament to the growing crisis. Congressman Ciscomani highlighted that fentanyl overdoses have become a leading cause of death among teenagers in Pima County.
Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, who oversees a section of the U.S.-Mexico border, has expressed strong support for the bill, dubbed “The Combating Cartels on Social Media Act.” He believes this initiative could significantly benefit his jurisdiction and surrounding regions, where cartels are known to recruit locals into drug and human trafficking operations.
“They’re partnered up with international criminal organizations,” Dannels remarked. “People forget the cartels are ruthless. And you got young people picking up adults in camouflage in the back of their cars or grandma’s car, or whatever car they’re driving, and they have no idea who is in that back seat.”
Dannels is particularly concerned about American teens being manipulated into cartel activities, citing instances of teenagers from other counties attempting to smuggle contraband through his area. He asserts that the bill, backed by organizations such as the Arizona Sheriffs’ Association, the Western States Sheriffs’ Association, and the National Sheriffs’ Association, has the potential to save lives.
“This is my 41st year in law enforcement, and this is the worst I’ve ever seen it when it comes to smuggling and then using social media as the platform to infect these young lives,” he stated. “I think it’s so sad.”
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