Facebook Allows Cartels To Advertise Human Smuggling Services
Former acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell has alleged that Facebook is allowing coyotes in Guatemala to advertise human smuggling services to transport illegal aliens to the United States.
Meta-owned platforms, including Facebook, have a history of being used for human smuggling or other trafficking operations. The problem became so prevalent that Apple threatened to remove Facebook from the app store in 2001 over human trafficking concerns.
The Wall Street Journal reported at the time that investigators had documented a “bustling human-trafficking trade in the Middle East taking place on [Facebook’s] services. On Facebook and Instagram, unscrupulous employment agencies advertised workers they could supply under coercive terms, using their photos and describing their skills and personal details.”
“The company took down some offending pages, but took only limited action to try to shut down the activity until Apple Inc. threatened to remove Facebook’s products from the App Store unless it cracked down on the practice,” the outlet explained.
Grenell revealed that Facebook has apparently not completely solved the problem in a Friday post on X, formerly known as Twitter, following a trip to Guatemala.
“I’ve learned in Guatemala that coyotes are openly advertising on @facebook – 3 tries to get to the United States for $10k,” he wrote, adding that President Joe Biden and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook and its parent company Meta, “don’t care.”
Grenell flew to Guatemala for a meeting with the Central American nation’s president, Alejandro Giammattei, where they reportedly discussed ways to help stem the flow of illegal aliens into the United States. Grenell thanked Giammattei in another post for his “unwavering dedication” to helping the U.S. battle illegal immigration, noting that he wishes “the Biden Administration would have embraced” the Guatemalan president’s “great ideas” surrounding the issue.
Amid the attempts to stop illegal immigration from Guatemala, the Biden administration has actually been trying to hinder the country’s conservative government from enacting conservative reforms.
In yet another post, Grenell called out the Biden administration for using State Department officials to “intimidate Guatemalans from criticizing Left wing policies” — citing several instances of intimidation, including the U.S. Embassy sending “business and political leaders to their offices to ask them to stop supporting the Attorney General, her work and conservative policies.”
“What the Biden team is doing to conservatives in America is exactly what they are doing overseas – thru the State Department’s INL and WHA leadership. It’s unAmerican and just may be illegal. I’ve called for the State Department IG to launch an investigation as quickly as possible. I know several U.S. Senators agree,” he added.
Meanwhile, Facebook isn’t the only social media platform that has allowed cartels to advertise human smuggling services. Investigative journalist Tayler Hansen revealed in July that the Chinese-owned platform TikTok was permitting smugglers to recruit drivers on its platform.
In one post, a video showed the process of getting past U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, the discussions during the operation and the cash payments that smugglers receive after the operation.
“I need drivers based in Texas. Only serious enquires. Good pay: $10-20K USD in 3 hours. Houston, TX, Dallas, TX, San Marcos, TX, San Marcos, San Antonio, Austin, TX, Waco, TX, Temple, TX. Follow me and DM me if interested and if you have a car or truck. We will pay more if you have a trailer,” a caption within the video stated, according to a translation.
