Cartels using social media to recruit Arizona teens
ARIZONA (KYMA, KECY) - Arizona Senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema emphasized how drug cartels are using popular social media apps to recruit Arizona teenagers for smuggling operations.
I spoke exclusively with the Senator today about her initiative to keep Arizona teens safe from drug cartels.
During a Senate Homeland Security Committee Hearing, Senator Sinema called out TikTok, Meta and other social media asking them to share any and all cartel-related information with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Sinema says young people are expected to spend most of their time on social media, making it easy for cartels to reach them.
She emphasized how teenagers as young as 14 are being lured into participating in illegal activities for the cartel by promoting quick and easy money.
“We also know that a lot of teens maybe don’t understand the consequences of this dangerous behavior," said Senator Sinema. "They might think that they’re helping someone, but the reality is that this is not only unlawful, it can be very dangerous. As we saw in the incident last year, where an innocent bystander was killed during a high-speed police chase.”
Yuma county supervisor, Jonathan Lines says Arizona teens don’t truly know what they’re getting themselves into with the cartel.
“No, they don’t understand that they’re now on the hook and there may be consequences for failure to deliver," said Lines. "It’s not just that quick and easy money, you are making a deal with the devil.”
The Senator is urging parents to stay in the loop of who their teens are interacting with on social media.
“I would also encourage parents and young teens to watch out for this action on social media. Cartels are recruiting young kids in Arizona to engage in this dangerous activity," said Senator Sinema.
As the Chair of the Bipartisan Committee on Border Issues, Sinema confirms she’s working on bipartisan legislation to combat recruitment by cartels on social media.
Senator Sinema says several social media executives from TikTok and Youtube “promised” her they will begin to share all cartel-sponsored content with DHS.
