Pablo Escobar to the Algorithm: Study Finds Cartels Use TikTok to Recruit Mexican Youth
A new study by the Colegio de México, led by researcher Rodrigo Peña, finds that drug cartels in Mexico are using TikTok and platform algorithms to recruit young people. The shift matters because recruitment can now begin entirely online, exploiting emotional identity cues and the mechanics of social feeds.
Development details
The research analyzed 100 TikTok accounts tied mainly to the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and documented a distinct digital recruitment strategy built on emojis, hashtags and corridos tumbados. Investigators found direct messages and posts sent in the name of criminal groups and identified cases where young users responded to calls to join, with comments such as "A mí me interesa" and "Yo quiero jale. "
The study notes economic incentives advertised on these platforms, with offers reaching as high as 15, 000 pesos per week. For comparison, the report juxtaposes that figure with Mexico’s daily minimum wage of 315 pesos. Researchers also recorded that roughly 50% of the content analyzed was published after the discovery of a camp attributed to the CJNG at Rancho Izaguirre, Jalisco, in March 2025.
Pablo Escobar and the digital turn in recruitment
The investigators frame the phenomenon as a movement from traditional narcocultural imagery toward algorithm-driven outreach. While historical figures like pablo escobar have long inhabited narcoculture, the study shows that contemporary recruiters are relying less on physical displays of force and more on a polished digital language that appeals to identity and emotion.
Peña emphasizes that violent crime adapts to new technologies: contact can start on a screen without immediate physical coercion. The algorithmic environment creates "filter bubbles" that group users by the content they view and share, making exposure to recruitment materials self-reinforcing. The researchers identify TikTok as particularly risky because users can become segmented into these closed digital communities that are difficult to leave.
Immediate impact
The study highlights who is most affected and how. Young people are both targets and, increasingly, applicants; the investigators found comments from youth expressing willingness to join. The report characterizes cartels as having become the "fifth employer of the country, " a label that underscores the economic pull these groups hold in certain communities.
Access to devices amplifies vulnerability: the research cites that eight out of ten children aged 3 to 12 in Mexico have access to a smartphone. Peña links the recruitment surge to broader social drivers, naming structural violence tied to poverty and lack of opportunities and symbolic violence connected to identity and masculinity as underlying factors that the online recruitment campaigns exploit.
Forward outlook
The study points to clear short-term markers: half of the examined content appeared after the March 2025 discovery of a CJNG camp, indicating intensified online activity following that event. As an immediate prescription, Peña argues that the response should not be limited to account shutdowns; the recommended next step is strengthening digital education to equip young users to recognize and exit recruitment environments.
What makes this notable is the combination of economic incentives, platform mechanics and cultural messaging: together they produce a recruitment pathway that can begin, escalate and conclude without traditional in-person contact. The researchers present a case that disrupting this pathway will require coordinated digital literacy efforts alongside broader social measures to address poverty and limited opportunities.
