Cartels are increasingly using young American citizens to smuggle fentanyl

Contrary to the campaign rhetoric of politicians like former President Donald Trump, Mexican drug cartels do not rely on migrants crossing the border illegally to smuggle fentanyl into the country.

The truth is in many ways more disturbing. Instead of using undocumented migrants who are already vulnerable to capture and even death, the cartels are using people who regularly cross the border legally. And an increasing number of these people are high school and college students.

Local prosecutors charged 26 minors with drug trafficking in 2022, and that number is expected to top 30 this year, according to data from San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan’s office.

“Organized crime is smart enough to pick on people who don’t have a criminal record,” Stephan said. “It’s very disturbing to see these young high school kids, carrying fentanyl, strapping it to their bodies, risking their own health.”

Fentanyl is the ideal drug for this type of trafficking. Small amounts of the powerful narcotic yield large profits. There is no need for the boats, planes, and underground tunnels often associated with moving tons of product at a time. Fentanyl fits in a shirt pocket or the glove compartment of a car.

More than 90% of all drug seizures occur at legal border crossings such as the San Ysidro Port of Entry, where more than 100,000 people cross the border every day. according to data from Customs and Border Protection (CBP). According to the United States Sentencing Commission, more than 86% of all people accused of fentanyl trafficking are U.S. citizens.

“They prey on people who may be in financial trouble,” said Sidney Aki, director of field operations at CBP’s San Diego office.

Easy prey

Sometimes a few hundred dollars or the promise of a brand new smartphone is all it takes.

“They get a small, token payment,” Aki said of young smugglers. “Maybe an Apple iPhone or an Android phone or something like that.”

In some cases, people smuggle fentanyl into San Diego without even knowing it. It happens so often that Border Patrol agents have a name for these unsuspecting types: blind mules.

That nearly happened to two students at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, said Marco Bareno, Southwestern’s Chief Safety Officer.

Both students live in Tijuana and cross the border to attend classes. They both found GPS tracking devices in the undercarriage of their cars, Bareno said.

“We were able to see what appeared to be a young male attaching a device underneath the car, which matched the location where the student found it,” Bareno said, citing security footage.

Students at a commuter school like Southwestern are especially vulnerable because they have predictable routines, Bareno said.

“We’re all creatures of habit,” he said. “We usually park in the same spot because it’s close to your classes. So it’s easy to track that car.”

And it’s as simple as attaching the drugs to the car in Tijuana and then picking them up in San Diego — all without the driver knowing, Bareno said.

During orientation, campus police warn students about the dangers of becoming a blind mule — especially those who live in Tijuana. They encourage students to park their cars in a garage or locked area, if possible.

“It would be irresponsible for our department to say this isn’t happening because we don’t hear about it,” Bareno said. “We need to be aware that this is happening.”

The school plans to implement more surveillance technology on campus, he added.

At the DA’s office, Stephan relies on education and awareness to combat fentanyl smuggling. Her office recently placed a billboard in El Cajon with the faces of 32 San Diego residents killed by fentanyl.

“Thirty-two families changed forever,” she said.

It is part of a larger outreach project that also includes a San Diego high school to warn students about the dangers of drug trafficking.

“The recruitment is very active and what the cartels tell these children is that nothing will happen to them,” she said.

But with more than 700 San Diego residents die from overdoses each yearStephan said the consequences are very real.