COCHISE COUNTY, AZ - With the southern border crisis not getting any better, authorities in Cochise County, Arizona are sharing the details of how drug cartels are using social media to recruit American teenagers to smuggle drugs and humans into and throughout the country.
According to a report from CBS News, many of these teenagers have been lured into the illegal trade by drug cartels through social media posts and messages promising substantial financial rewards for quickly moving migrants away from the southern border.
In a statement to CBS News, County Sheriff Mark Daniels, who sits on the Board of Advisors for Law Enforcement Today, said, "We have over a hundred juveniles in the last 18 months that we've apprehended in this county smuggling, all the way to the age of 13 and 12 years of age down here, driving grandma's car, a friend's car, or mom and dad's car down here, and it's social media."
One example of this is of 18-year-old Gerardo alacron-Martin from North Carolina. He was arrested back in June after leading deputies on a long car chase. He has since pleaded guilty to assisting in a human smuggling operation.
He allegedly told investigators that he was directed to pick up three migrants in the desert after responding to a message on TikTok. According to video by CBS News, the police officer asked, "Was it an advertisement? The kid responded, "It was like an advertisement, yeah."
The officer asked a follow-up question, "What was the advertisement like? To which the kid responded, "It was just showing money."
Deputy Chris Oletsky, a 20-year Marine veteran who joined the local sheriff's office about three years ago to be part of a five-deputy team focused solely on intercepting human smugglers, said, "It is 100 percent Uber for the cartels."
As of recent, Oletsky's team intercepted a vehicle from Phoenix, driven by a 23-year-old who claimed that he was doing it to pay his rent. In the back of the vehicle, an undocumented migrant was found.
Other incidents like this have turned deadly as a typical night in Cochise County includes seeing law enforcement officers in high-speed pursuits as they chase the suspects. Many of these dangerous chases have been captured on body cameras.
Back in 2021, a 16-year-old suspected smuggler crashed into a 65-year-old woman headed to her own birthday dinner. That crash took her life.
CBS News also shared video of a time when Oletsky was injured while tossing a spike strip in front of a speeding car in order to aid in the arrest of 47-year-old Bernadette Fuaga. During that incident, six suspected illegal immigrants fled from the scene. Fuaga was charged with smuggling and driving under the influence.
Dannels expressed his frustration with the federal government, saying that no one appears to be doing anything to help fix this crisis. He said, "It pisses me off because we've been talking about this for almost three years. I've testified in front of Congress. I've met with anybody that'll listen to us and every day that goes by I see another tragedy."
Cochise County covers approximately 6,200 square miles, or the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. It has 83 miles of border with Mexico, but there are only 99 swon deputies who often patrol alone.
According to a report from CBS News, many of these teenagers have been lured into the illegal trade by drug cartels through social media posts and messages promising substantial financial rewards for quickly moving migrants away from the southern border.
In a statement to CBS News, County Sheriff Mark Daniels, who sits on the Board of Advisors for Law Enforcement Today, said, "We have over a hundred juveniles in the last 18 months that we've apprehended in this county smuggling, all the way to the age of 13 and 12 years of age down here, driving grandma's car, a friend's car, or mom and dad's car down here, and it's social media."
One example of this is of 18-year-old Gerardo alacron-Martin from North Carolina. He was arrested back in June after leading deputies on a long car chase. He has since pleaded guilty to assisting in a human smuggling operation.
He allegedly told investigators that he was directed to pick up three migrants in the desert after responding to a message on TikTok. According to video by CBS News, the police officer asked, "Was it an advertisement? The kid responded, "It was like an advertisement, yeah."
The officer asked a follow-up question, "What was the advertisement like? To which the kid responded, "It was just showing money."
Deputy Chris Oletsky, a 20-year Marine veteran who joined the local sheriff's office about three years ago to be part of a five-deputy team focused solely on intercepting human smugglers, said, "It is 100 percent Uber for the cartels."
As of recent, Oletsky's team intercepted a vehicle from Phoenix, driven by a 23-year-old who claimed that he was doing it to pay his rent. In the back of the vehicle, an undocumented migrant was found.
Other incidents like this have turned deadly as a typical night in Cochise County includes seeing law enforcement officers in high-speed pursuits as they chase the suspects. Many of these dangerous chases have been captured on body cameras.
Back in 2021, a 16-year-old suspected smuggler crashed into a 65-year-old woman headed to her own birthday dinner. That crash took her life.
CBS News also shared video of a time when Oletsky was injured while tossing a spike strip in front of a speeding car in order to aid in the arrest of 47-year-old Bernadette Fuaga. During that incident, six suspected illegal immigrants fled from the scene. Fuaga was charged with smuggling and driving under the influence.
Dannels expressed his frustration with the federal government, saying that no one appears to be doing anything to help fix this crisis. He said, "It pisses me off because we've been talking about this for almost three years. I've testified in front of Congress. I've met with anybody that'll listen to us and every day that goes by I see another tragedy."
Cochise County covers approximately 6,200 square miles, or the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. It has 83 miles of border with Mexico, but there are only 99 swon deputies who often patrol alone.
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