Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Brazen Migrant Smugglers Offer Services Through TikTok, with Videos Promoting $13B Industry; Human Smugglers are Now Advertising Dangerous Illegal Border Crossings into the US in Exchange for Cash on TikTok

Brazen migrant smugglers offer services through TikTok, with videos promoting $13B industry:
They’re the Kardashians of the coyote world.
Migrant-smuggling “influencers” are cashing in on a dangerous, multibillion-dollar industry by brazenly advertising illegal transportation into the US — for more than $10,000 per person — with slickly produced TikTok videos, The Post has learned.
The cartel-linked human smugglers, known as coyotes in Spanish, post high-quality promo videos showing them escorting migrants across rivers and customers smiling inside secret “stash houses” once purportedly over the border.
The social media-savvy outlaws have public profiles on sites such as TikTok and YouTube, where they flaunt their schemes — which make a mockery of the US immigration system — under the noses of border protection officers.
Anyone can open their phone and with a few clicks talk to a coyote via their social media account and receive a quote for slipping an immigrant illegally into the US, The Post has found.
One alleged human smuggler told The Post he charges 180,000 Mexican pesos (around $10,500) to sneak a Mexican person into the US.
Prices depend on what country the migrant is from, according to Soy Xulen, whose YouTube handle is @ELINMIGRANTEAVENTURERO, which translates to “the migrant adventurer.”
Xulen’s footage has raked in nearly 13 million views and shows smugglers in camouflage slipping illegal immigrants over the border.
In one of his videos, border crossers in backpacks can be seen trekking along a dusty desert path followed by what appears to be a family crammed into the back of a vehicle.
Another shot, filmed in Juarez, shows the location of Border Patrol officers.
His footage also follows migrants on a raft crossing the Rio Grande, the river that separates Texas from Mexico and serves as the international boundary.
In the footage, shot in Texas’ Big Bend region, smugglers can be seen pulling the inflatable packed with migrants across the water with a safety line. --->READ MORE HERE
Human smugglers are now advertising dangerous illegal border crossings into the US in exchange for cash on TikTok:
Human smugglers are advertising their illegal border crossing services into the US in exchange for cash on TikTok, according to a bombshell new report.
An extensive USA Today report details the ways in which both migrants and human smugglers are harnessing the power of social media to advise others making the journey and promote their services.
Hernan Vergel, a 34-year-old migrant, has, since May 19, documented on TikTok each day of his journey to the US-Mexico border.
Vergel, who started in Colombia, has been providing information about how to survive the perilous journey, including crossing Honduras without being harassed by authorities, and avoiding migration controls in Guatemala.
While Vergel's audience is growing, so is the audience of professional smugglers, who have also become smart about utilizing social media to expand their client base.
The USA Today report says that a 'coyote' - the Spanish slang word for smuggler - with whom they got in touch, said he runs an agency that arranges travel for illegal migrants across the US border in exchange for thousands of dollars per person.
The man claims to know the safest way to get across the US border without being caught. He also charges as much as $10,000 per person, if the journey starts in Guyana.
He said he maintains contacts along different routes and in multiple countries who will 'protect' migrants. He said his company uses private cars, buses, vans, and boats to his customers enduring the trek.
Additionally, he said he maintains constant contact with the loved ones of the migrants.
Customs and Border Protection has repeatedly warned about smugglers for hire, and the likelihood that migrants will be abandoned or lost along the way. --->LOTS MORE HERE
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