Migrant Smugglers Advertise On TikTok And YouTube: Report

Migrant smugglers have been brazenly advertising their services influencer-style on TikTok and YouTube, flaunting their participation in the illegal multi-billion dollar industry.

The human smugglers, who are linked to drug cartels, advertise with high-quality TikToks and YouTube videos that show them illegally transporting migrants across the U.S. southern border, the New York Post reported.

The videos show the “coyotes,” as they are known in Spanish, taking migrants across rivers — and migrants smiling in “stash houses” across the border.

Smugglers can charge upwards of $10,000 per person transported. One alleged smuggler told the Post he charges about $10,500 to smuggle a Mexican person over the border.

One YouTube channel with the handle @ELINMIGRANTEAVENTURERO or “the migrant adventurer” has more than 56,000 subscribers and shows smugglers in action, including a video showing a family in the back of a vehicle.

The channel claims to be just “documenting the migrant experience.”

However, once the Post got in contact with Soy Xulen, who runs the channel, he told them that the price for a smuggling service depends on the country the migrant is traveling from.

One video from the channel shows a small boy who appears to be about seven or eight years old smiling and giving a thumbs up as he arrives at a safe house. Another video shows the location of Border Patrol officers.

On TikTok, dozens of accounts appear to be run by smugglers. Some appeared from a search for the keywords “sueno americano” (“American dream”), “levanto” (“pick up”), and “inmigrantes” (“immigrants”).

One video showed footage of young migrants crossing the Rio Grande. Another video showed alleged smugglers at a border fence hole and later showing stacks of cash in a vehicle.

The Post reported that the alleged coyotes target people from El Salvador and Honduras with specific TikTok hashtags.

Drug cartels make about $13 billion per year through human smuggling, up from $500 million in 2018.

The videos do not warn migrants about the dangers of traveling to the border, especially with a smuggler, which can include extremely poor conditions and even death.

Last year, 53 migrants, most from Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras, died after being trapped for hours in a sweltering semi-truck, which was abandoned in a desolate area on the outskirts of San Antonio, where temperatures rose into the 100s.

In a particularly gruesome detail, some of those found in the truck appeared to have roasted to death dusted with steak seasoning, a possible attempt to disguise the smell of people as the smugglers crossed the border.

Sometimes smugglers will demand more money halfway through the journey, threatening to disappear with migrants’ relatives if they do not pay up.

President Biden has halted construction of former President Trump’s border wall and scaled back deportations, as he promised during his campaign. The administration rarely deports any illegal immigrants from the interior of the country.

Experts say these policies encourage migrants to try their luck entering illegally and offer smugglers with dangerous practices an opportunity to take advantage.

“We say don’t come because we will not let you in, but our policies encourage the opposite,” RJ Hauman, director of government relations and communications at the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) told The Daily Wire last year. “Migrants around the world have taken note of this, and they’re using dangerous cartels, smugglers, and traffickers, to make the journey in. And the end result can be tragic situations.”

Man Charged In Stabbing Death Of Another Alleged Subway Menace

A man is facing charges after yet another fatal encounter on a New York City subway train with an alleged menace who was threatening passengers.

Jordan Williams, a 20-year-old from Queens, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with manslaughter and possession of a weapon for the stabbing death of Devictor Ouedraogo in Brooklyn.

Law enforcement sources told NBC New York that Ouedraogo, 36, was harassing passengers around 8 p.m. Tuesday on a train car, and a toxicology report will help determine if the man was under the influence. Investigators are said to be examining cell phone video of the tussle as part of their inquiry.

Police sources told the New York Post that Ouedraogo, who records show did time in state prison for a 2009 attempted robbery, began to argue with Williams and his girlfriend when Ouedraogo punched the woman in the face. A fight ensued, during which Williams allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed Ouedraogo, after which Ouedraogo was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead.

Jason Goldman, a lawyer who claims to be representing Williams, decried the situation as “upsetting” because his client was “charged without a thorough investigation,” according to The New York Times.

The fatal altercation comes on the heels of another deadly train incident in which Marine veteran Daniel Penny placed Jordan Neely, a homeless street performer known to have mental issues and an extensive criminal history, into a headlock last month on a New York City subway train. Neely, too, was allegedly threatening passengers before he was restrained.

As seen in bystander video footage, Neely appeared to lose consciousness. He was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital, according to the Associated Press. New York City’s medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide due to “compression of neck (chokehold),” but the ruling did not determine culpability.

More than a week after the incident, Penny surrendered to law enforcement in New York on second-degree manslaughter charges, though Penny did not enter a plea and was released on $100,000 bail. A grand jury indicted in Manhattan then indicted Penny this week.

In video clips released by his lawyers over the weekend, Penny said he jumped into action to protect himself and commuters. In addition, Penny denied that race was a motivating factor. He called such claims “absolutely ridiculous,” adding, “I didn’t see a black man threatening passengers. I saw a man threatening passengers, a lot of whom were people of color.”

Goldman said Williams also acted in “clear self-defense,” but questioned whether his client is getting the “same treatment” as Penny, in part because Williams is black and Penny is white.

“Is Mr. Williams not getting the same treatment that Mr. Penny received — released, voluntary surrender, and low bail — because his skin color is different and he comes from a particular neighborhood?” Goldman said.

Multiple reports said members of Ouedraogo’s family could not be immediately reached.

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