Katarina Szulc

They are showing some of the ugly side of it, but they're making it seem cool.

It's like militarized.

And then you'll have a link in the bio of that TikTok account that you click it and it directly opens a WhatsApp group chat.

That's the beginning step of cartel recruitment.

No kidding.

Yeah, you're joining this group chat and you have certain higher level operatives for the cartel in there that will ask you certain questions or tell you what you're getting into.

and then they vet you based on your answers to those questions or the personal information you give.

Then you move into a different group chat, and then another one, and it kind of goes down the steps to the point where you're then in direct contact with high-level cartel operatives who are actively helping you get into the cartel.

And literally to the point where it's like, okay,

A car will come and pick you up from your address now, now that you've shown us that you are willing to be a part of our group.

And it'll take you to a bus station.

You get on that bus, you're going to meet us here, and you're going to train for six months in the mountains of Puerto Vallarta.

So the social media is just the first step to this.

And it's major for them because without numbers, without this support, the cartels can't function, right?

And if you have vulnerable, impressionable young people who are looking for a fatter paycheck, who are enamored by this lifestyle and who want to be a part of something, you have the perfect victim and you take them in and you absolutely abuse the shit out of them and dehumanize them and you turn them into a machine and you give them some money.

And now this is the beginning part of someone working for the cartel.

So it is mainly family members, but then it's about proving your loyalty.

How much are you going to do for us?

And especially if when you prove your loyalty, it's successful.

So a good example of this could be...