The Use of Social Media by Alleged Members of Mexican Cartels and Affiliated Drug Trafficking Organizations

Authors

Justin Nix, University of Nebraska at OmahaFollow
Michael R. Smith, University of Texas at El Paso
Matthew Petrocelli, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Jeff Rojek, University of Texas at El Paso
Victor M. Manjarrez, University of Texas at El Paso

Author ORCID Identifier

Justin Nix

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2016

Publication Title

J Homel Secur Emerg Mgmt

Volume

13

Issue

3

First Page

395

Last Page

418

Abstract

Focusing on Mexican cartels and affiliated drug trafficking organizations, this article examines how self-proclaimed cartel members use social media to further the criminal activities of their organizations. Employing an opensource, intelligence-driven methodology, the authors identified, followed, and mapped the connections between and among 75 alleged cartel members over a period of 4 months. Results indicated that cartel members actively use Facebook to plan, organize, and communicate in real-time. These findings provide tentative validation to the utility of using open-source social media platforms to study the social structure and operations of Mexican drug cartels. Implications for law enforcement, homeland security, and the intelligence enterprise are discussed.

Comments

The article can also be found on the journal website here: https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/jhsem.2016.13.issue-3/jhsem-2015-0084/jhsem-2015-0084.xml, https://doi.org/10.1515/jhsem-2015-0084.

Recommended Citation

Nix, Justin; Smith, Michael R.; Petrocelli, Matthew; Rojek, Jeff; and Manjarrez, Victor M., "The Use of Social Media by Alleged Members of Mexican Cartels and Affiliated Drug Trafficking Organizations" (2016). Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications. 57.
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/criminaljusticefacpub/57