Mexican Drug Cartels Target Internet Influencers

<p>Mexican drug cartels have increasingly targeted internet influencers, with content creators in cartel territories turning up dead, including some who were killed while livestreaming. </p><p>Recently, Mexican authorities arrested a man accused of shooting TikTok influencer Cesar Gastelum during a live broadcast in Culiacan, Sinaloa. </p><p>Local media estimate that approximately 20 influencers have been killed under similar circumstances across Mexico since 2024, with the majority of incidents occurring in Sinaloa, according to CNN. A separate count indicates 19 deaths as of earlier this month, with eight occurring in Sinaloa alone, as reported by The Sun.</p><p>David Mora, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, stated that influencers have become entangled in the violent power struggle between rival criminal factions. </p><p>"The dynamic we are seeing with influencers and cartels in Mexico is one we have seen before – attacking those who provide resources for the enemy," Mora said. </p><p>"Influencer killings have emerged alongside this war. They have started taking sides – not directly but by promoting certain images or symbols or music associated with one of the groups," he added.</p><p>Gastelum, 24, had over half a million TikTok followers before he was killed on August 4. He was reportedly participating in a social media challenge outside a KFC when two men on a motorcycle opened fire. </p><p>The shooting was captured on a livestream in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state and a center of the ongoing conflict between rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel. </p><p>Authorities are investigating whether Gastelum was targeted due to his social media activity. Mexico's security secretariat stated that its lines of investigation included posts "alluding to a faction of a criminal group," according to CBS News.</p><p>Gastelum is the latest in a growing list of influencer deaths. Last year, Valeria Marquez was shot and killed inside a beauty salon during a TikTok livestream, with the camera still recording as she lay bleeding. </p><p>In Sinaloa, 22-year-old Agustin Paul, known online as "El Pinky," was found dead with his hands and feet bound in January 2025. His death followed threats against local musicians and another influencer.</p><p>In October 2024, Juan Carlos Lopez, known as "El Chilango," was shot dead after posting videos of his walks through Culiacan and publicly declaring loyalty to incarcerated Sinaloa Cartel co-founder "El Chapo," as reported by CNN.</p><p>The threats have extended beyond individual killings. In January 2025, a small plane reportedly dropped pamphlets over Culiacan threatening artists and YouTubers accused of supporting one faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.</p><p>This violence is occurring amid a brutal internal war that began after the capture of longtime Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada in the United States in July 2024. The conflict has pitted a faction loyal to Zambada against Los Chapitos, led by Guzman's sons.</p><p>Social media has also become a significant propaganda and recruitment tool for these violent gangs, increasing the risks for influencers.</p><p>"Propaganda is crucial to cartels because it helps legitimize them," Mora said. "Having local communities on your side makes control of criminal rackets easier. Making the criminal lifestyle attractive also helps recruit young people."</p><p>He added, "Everyone's life is filtered through social media – so it has become new turf to fight over." </p><p>"The Sinaloa cartel was a perfect example of a cartel that did not have to rely on force and violence to keep control or support. But these mechanisms are not there anymore, especially amid the violence in Sinaloa, and this has brought a reckoning. Violence is now putting innocent people in the middle," Mora concluded.</p>