He Northeast Cartel (CDN), one of the most violent criminal organizations in Mexicoyou are using Facebook to recruit people to help in the smuggling of migrants to USA.
This alarming revelation comes from Craig Larrabeespecial agent in charge of the
Homeland Security Investigations Office
(HSI) in San Antonio, Texas, who warned about the CDN’s use of social networks to expand its criminal operations.
Facebook as a recruiting tool
Larrabee explained that the CDN uses Facebook to post ads and contact people interested in working for the organization in the migrant trafficking.
These ads, which often offer “high-paying jobs” and “unique opportunities,” attract vulnerable people who seek to improve their economic situation.
Once contacted, people are subjected to a process of recruitment which includes interviews and tests for evaluate your loyalty and ability to fulfill assigned tasks.
“Los Fantasmas”: the migrant smuggling gang recruited by the CDN on Facebook
With information from official documents
, This alert arises following the conviction of two members of the Northeast Cartel who were dedicated to migrant smuggling and used to publish in Facebook to offer their transportation services.
It is about Francisco Suarez y Luis Daniel Segura Guzmán20 and 26 years old, respectively.
Suárez was sentenced to 33 months in prison and Segura Guzmán, originally from Mexico, received 30 months. In addition, each of them must serve three years of supervised release.
According to the investigations, both subjects were part of “The Ghosts”, a people smuggling gang “that works hand in hand with the mexican cartels“, detailed the US authorities.
Segura Guzmán admitted that Northeast Cartel
Northeast Cartel
I had recruited him to traffic foreigners and that Suárez was one of his main partners.
To achieve his objective, the Mexican used an account Facebook to announce and coordinate smuggling acts.
Evidence on social networks
On August 23, 2023, authorities discovered a post on Facebook that seemed to advertise transport services undocumented aliens through sleeper cabs of tractor trailers.
On September 16, 2023, Segura Guzmán was arrested in Laredo, Texas. When the authorities checked his mobile device, they realized that it was still connected to the account. Facebook related to the referred publications.
Through this red social, The Mexican had offered to transport migrants for the month of August.
Sensitive information on phones
Through an analysis of his cell phone, it was learned that Segura Guzman was involved in the transportation of at least 133 undocumented immigrants since 2020.
In addition, he had sensitive information about people, such as photographs, credentials of IDpayment receipts and screenshots of the routes I used. They also found similar information on Suárez’s phone.
This individual was arrested a month earlier and had around 300 photographs of people whom he illegally introduced into USAincluding minors.
The way the CDN works
The CDN operates mainly in the states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon y Coahuilawhere it controls key routes for migrant trafficking.
The organization uses various modalities to transport migrants, such as trucks, buses and safe houses. Migrants are subjected to inhumane conditions and are victims of
extortion
, kidnapping y other crimes.
Social networks, a new battlefield
The use of social networks by organized crimeepresents a new challenge for authorities.
Digital platforms offer criminals a space to recruit members, coordinate operations, spread propaganda and extort victims.
The ease of access and anonymity What social networks offer make them an ideal tool for criminal groups.
The alert issued by the United States regarding the use of Facebook by the
Northeast Cartel
for migrant trafficking is a wake-up call about the need to strengthen the fight against organized crime in the digital environment.
