Influencers in Mexico are increasingly becoming targets in the ongoing war between factions of the Sinaloa cartel, with six already killed this year. The violence follows the detention of cartel co-founder Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada in the US in July 2024, which sparked a conflict between his faction and that of Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán's sons.
Pamphlets dropped from a helicopter in Culiacán earlier this year accused 25 influencers and musicians of serving organised crime. Four of those named had 'ELIMINATED' stamped across them, and since then two more have been killed, including narco-turned-YouTuber Camilo Ochoa, shot on 17 August in the state of Morelos.
Experts say the targeting reflects influencers' alleged roles in money laundering and their use in cartel propaganda. Salvador Mejía, a lawyer specialising in illicit finance, noted that while influencers are a relatively minor channel for laundering money, their true utility lies in propaganda. 'Cartels have their own PR departments,' he said. 'What we have is a propaganda machine.'
Among those on the list is Markitos Toys, a 26-year-old influencer with a huge following, whose brother was gunned down in Baja California. Markitos Toys is under investigation by Mexico's Financial Intelligence Unit on suspicion of having artificially inflated followers, potentially used to launder money. He has denied the allegations and fled Sinaloa after his parents' house was shot at.
The conflict has left nearly 2,000 dead, with influencers now hunted beyond Sinaloa's borders. Javier Llausas, director of an NGO in Sinaloa, said, 'This is a war. And as in any war, propaganda matters.'
