Earlier this year, a helicopter dropped leaflets over the capital of the Mexican state of Sinaloa, accusing influencers and local musicians from being at the service of organized crime. Four of the 25 faces appearing on the brochures bore the word “ELIMINATED.”
Since then, more people have been murdered, including Camilo Ochoa, a drug dealer turned YouTuber, who was gunned down in August.
THE influencers They have become targets of the war between factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, a reflection of their alleged role in money laundering and cartel propaganda, as well as the war waged on the Internet.
A bloody internal war
The conflict within the cartel erupted after US authorities arrested Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, co-founder with Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán of the Sinaloa cartel, in July 2024 in El Paso, Texas, where his plane had landed. Joaquín Guzmán, son of “El Chapo”, was arrested during the same operation.
“El Mayo” accused the son of “El Chapo” of having betrayed him and of having handed him over to the American authorities. Today, a faction led by the son of “El Mayo” is waging a war against the faction led by the two sons of “El Chapo” who remain at large in Mexico.
More than 2,500 people they are dead for this internal war, including several people who appeared in the pamphlet and others who did not. Apparently, the leaflet was distributed by the “El Mayo” faction which accuses the influencers to launder money for El Chapo’s children.
Several members of the list have sought refuge in other states or countries after a series of attacks against influencers of Sinaloa, among them the one perpetrated against youtuber known as “El Jasper”, found dead with 70 gunshot wounds. In November, media reported the shooting death of Gerardo “El Jerry,” a content creator.
But they are already persecuting them beyond the borders of Sinaloa. Before Ochoa’s assassination in Morelos state, Gail Castro, brother of the famous influencer Markitos Toys.
“Propaganda machine”
Markitos Toys, 26, started gaining traction about six years ago. He has been at the center of controversy for his friendships with people close to El Chapo’s children and for his luxurious lifestyle, complete with sports cars and designer brands. His face was the first on the leaflets distributed in January.
According to the Milenio newspaper, Markitos Toys is one of 64 influencers of Sinaloa is the subject of an investigation by the Financial Intelligence Unit of Mexico. It is suspected that organized crime groups artificially inflate the number of their followers. Part of the “legal” money they receive from platforms for their content could end up in the hands of cartels.
Organized crime is always looking for new ways to launder money, with its financial experts exploring every inch of the ecosystem.
Salvador Mejia
— Lawyer
Markitos Toys denies the allegations, but since the war broke out it has spread everywhere except Sinaloa. His parents’ house in Culiacán was riddled with bullets and on the sidewalk someone carved the letters MF, initials of Mayito Flaco (son of El Mayo).
“Organized crime is always looking for new ways to launder money, with its financial experts exploring every inch of the ecosystem,” says Salvador Mejía, a lawyer specializing in illegal finance.
According to Mejía, the influencers They remain a relatively minor money laundering channel, while their real utility lies in propaganda. “The cartels have their own public relations departments,” explains Mejía. “What we have is a propaganda machine.”
Organized crime groups have long recorded gruesome videos of torture, confessions and executions, or scribbled messages on banners next to corpses, to send messages and manipulate public opinion. Lately, they have also resorted to social media, where narcoinfluencers They promote a certain lifestyle and proximity to organized crime, often with an ambitious tone and with content designed to attract adolescents.
Now these influencers They are now involved in a parallel propaganda war in Sinaloa, where they are asked to transmit certain messages and where they themselves become the target, explains Javier Llausas, director in Sinaloa of the NGO Building Spaces for Peace. “It’s a war,” Llausas says. “As in any war, propaganda is important.”
Translation by Francisco de Zárate.
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This article was edited and updated by the editorial staff of elDiario.es.
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