Drug Cartels: Here’s How They Use Messaging Apps to Track Down Enemies in Sinaloa

“When someone tortures you with a plastic bag over your head,” Carlos explained, “you’ll say anything just to be able to breathe.” Carlos recalls sitting in a warehouse in southern Sinaloa, his hands bound, as a bag was repeatedly pulled over and off his head.

Amidst the beatings and suffocation, he eventually confessed to things that weren’t true. He was making it all up just so they would stop hitting him. Stay with us. We’ll tell you how this testimony exposed the inner workings of a system used by organized crime to identify and target their enemies.

The story began in early 2026. Carlos was walking home from work when he felt a blow to the back of his head. Several people hoisted him off the ground and shoved him into the back of a pickup truck. After a drive along dirt roads, they arrived at a building where the interrogation began.

From the very start, they told him he was there because he was an *enemigo*—that is, an enemy of the cartel. He insisted they had the wrong person, but they didn’t believe him. They beat him, tied him to a chair, and tortured him to force a confession. The fear was so intense that he began to fabricate a criminal life for himself.

He claimed he was 31 years old, that he hailed from Mazatlán, that he worked for a criminal group, and that his alias was “El Charlie.” Amidst the relentless beatings and torture, Carlos realized something: someone had anonymously denounced him, and the cartel had decided to kill him for allegedly betraying “Los Chapitos.”

While the hitmen were searching for a hammer, another person entered the room and recognized him. It was the brother of a young man who lived on Carlos’s street. He knew Carlos’s family and vouched that Carlos had absolutely nothing to do with organized crime. Thanks to that intervention, they released him hours later once they had confirmed his true identity.

These types of accusations have become increasingly common. Channels have emerged on social media and encrypted messaging apps where criminal groups receive anonymous tips regarding alleged criminals.

For instance, social media accounts have circulated messages in which the so-called “Forces…” The *Unión* Special Forces offered rewards for information regarding criminals. They even established channels on apps like Telegram to receive tips, photos, or names.

The problem is that, quite often, these reports lack supporting evidence. Against this backdrop, criminal groups have begun utilizing encrypted messaging apps to receive anonymous tips.

The alliance led by Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar—son of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and one of the leaders of the faction known as *Los Chapitos* within the Sinaloa Cartel—created a profile on Telegram, an application renowned for its security, privacy, and end-to-end encryption.

Through this channel, they receive tips regarding alleged criminals—such as commanders, gunmen, or collaborators. Messages circulated on social media promise that information can be submitted risk-free and without questions asked; a mere photo, name, or nickname is enough to trigger the cartel’s machinery against the targeted individual—often without any need for proof.

Since then, Carlos has barely left his home. He quit his job out of fear that something similar might happen again. All that is known is that someone reported him anonymously; meanwhile, the channels where baseless accusations are made remain active.

In such an environment, anyone could be targeted—even by mistake. What do you think? Do anonymous tips help combat crime, or do they put innocent people at risk? We look forward to reading your thoughts in the comments.

Source: Milenio