Online Drug Cartels: These Are the Main Apps Used by Drug Traffickers

Cartels no longer operate solely on the streets. Today, they also dominate social media to recruit, monitor, and spread fear

From WhatsApp groups used to recruit young people to TikTok videos that glorify criminal organizations through *narco corridos* and key symbols—the reach is extensive.

In recent years, social media has completely transformed the way people communicate, interact, and share information; drug cartels, too, have found these platforms to be fertile ground for expanding their power. Here at MILENIO, we break down what is currently known about this phenomenon.

From Instagram to TikTok: Social Media Platforms Used by Organized Crime

At the beginning of the 2010s, social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat became the go-to spaces for young people to interact—a demographic that included the children of drug traffickers.

Designed as a visual platform for sharing moments from daily life, Instagram quickly became the favorite medium for “narco-juniors”—the offspring of cartel leaders—and younger hitmen to flaunt their lavish lifestyles: sports cars, expensive watches, stacks of cash, high-caliber weapons, and ostentatious parties.

One of the most well-known examples involves José Rodrigo Aréchiga Gamboa—better known as “El Chino Áantrax”, the most notorious leader of the armed wing “Los Ántrax,” which was linked to Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, a co-founder and former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.

The man—arrested in December 2013 in the Netherlands and murdered in May 2020 in Culiacán, Sinaloa—used to share photographs of his international travels, vehicles, and even firearms. Yet this ostentation wasn’t merely vanity; it was a symbolic demonstration of power.

Currently, drug cartels frequently utilize social media platforms as a propaganda tool, though they also serve as a space for coordination and the execution of criminal activities.

How do social media platforms function for drug cartels?

According to the *2024 National Drug Threat Assessment* report by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Mexican criminal groups use social platforms to advertise and sell narcotics.

Facebook serves as a prime example, utilized by criminal groups and individuals alike for the sale of firearms and narcotics, as well as for recruitment purposes.

Other social networks and applications identified by U.S. authorities as tools of the drug trade include Snapchat, Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, Wire, and Wickr.

Regarding TikTok, both Mexican authorities and various civil society groups have singled it out as the platform most heavily utilized by organized crime.

According to the report *New Frontiers in Digital Recruitment: Organized Crime Recruitment Strategies on TikTok*—produced by the Seminar on Violence and Peace at El Colegio de México—this is due to the fact that the platform features less content moderation compared to other digital platforms.

“TikTok has facilitated organized crime’s use of this digital space to construct new identities—identities that manifest through shared images, emojis, hashtags, and songs.” 

Drug Cartels’ Use of TikTok

Following a qualitative and quantitative analysis, the research concluded that drug cartels use TikTok to:

Recruit members

Promote border crossings

Issue invitations to engage in illicit business activities

Facilitate suspected prostitution

Disseminate crime-themed propaganda

Sell firearms

Hashtags, Emojis, and *Narcocorridos*: The Cartels’ Social Media Tools

The 24-page document from El Colegio de México also highlighted other findings regarding the use of social media—specifically TikTok:

Drug cartels advertise fake job opportunities, promising housing, wages, and training.

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) leads the way in using TikTok as a channel for recruitment and propaganda, although videos linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, La Mayiza, the Northeast Cartel, and the Knights Templar are also present.

The systematic use of emojis was detected; these serve as symbolic codes to identify specific criminal factions.

Content specifically targeting women was recorded, often framed as support initiatives for single mothers and students.

They utilize hashtags, music, and viral audio clips to boost the reach of their visual content.

The Case of Threema: The Swiss App

On April 15, 2026, following the apprehension of eight officers from the Manzanillo Municipal Police in Colima—due to their alleged ties to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)—MILENIO revealed that the detainees had been using a messaging application developed in Switzerland to coordinate their criminal activities.

According to an investigation led by Emir Castañeda for MILENIO Televisión, the application in question is Threema—the very same platform allegedly used by those involved in the assassination of Carlos Manzo Rodríguez, the mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, which took place on November 1, 2025.

Threema is a highly secure instant messaging application developed in Switzerland. It was founded in December 2012 by Manuel Kasper. Their service, according to their website, is the “end-to-end encrypted exchange of messages, calls, and files for businesses, the military, authorities, and private individuals—compliant with the GDPR and developed in Switzerland.”

According to the investigation surrounding the case involving security agents in Manzanillo, the CJNG’s use of this application was uncovered following the assassination of the Secretary of the Villa de Álvarez City Council, Alfredo Chávez, on February 14, 2024.

During the homicide investigation, authorities conducted a search in which they located two cell phones with the application installed—an app allegedly used to provide real-time updates on arrests, checkpoints, and C5 reports.

What should I do if I come across videos or accounts that might be linked to drug cartels?

Report them. If you encounter suspicious content on your social media feeds, you can report these instances to the appropriate authorities or to the platforms themselves to help curb digital crime.

Do not comment, “like,” or share. Interacting with such content can amplify its reach or expose you to the individuals managing those accounts. Even if it seems intriguing or goes viral, remember that this content is linked to serious crimes.

Protect your personal information. Do not follow or reply to messages if any of these accounts attempt to contact you.

Sources: Milenio, Cartel Insider Archives, Cartel Insider Archives