A pair of baby-faced teenagers were arrested for allegedly smuggling migrants across the US-Mexico border into Arizona this weekend – as authorities warned cartels were recruiting US citizens to carry out their human trafficking with the promise of easy cash.
Eli LaClaire, 19, and Landon Vert, 18, were arrested Friday afternoon after police pulled them over and found five illegal immigrants stashed in their car, the Cochise County Sheriff’s office announced.
Authorities think the couple could be the latest in a shocking trend of violent cartels using social media to recruit young Americans, which they say has drawn people from across the country.
The two teenagers were charged with human trafficking — a felony that could land them in prison for up to five years.
“[LaClaire] Obviously there were people in his vehicle, and he had all the camouflage and he had all the indicators and evidence … not to prove, but to show he was in the smuggling business,” Cochise Country Sheriff’s office representative Carol Kapas told The Post, adding there were also evidence that he had been involved in a previous smuggling operation before being arrested.
Landon Vert, 18, charged with human trafficking after he was found with illegal immigrants in his car at the Arizona Cochise County Sheriff’s Office Eli LaClaire, 19, was arrested Friday afternoon after he was found with five illegal immigrants hidden in his car Cochise County Sheriff’s Office
Cochise County has seen a surge in young people being recruited by cartels to transport migrants for up to $3,000 a person.
“We’ve had people come from all over the United States to do this. Even from Georgia, New York, Washington State, Virginia, Florida. We had someone come from California, fly to Phoenix, rent the biggest vehicle he could find, come down here and get arrested,” Kapas said.
Hundreds of Americans — some as young as 13 — have been caught behind the wheel of cars loaded with immigrants since about October 2021 and later found to have been recruited by the cartel, Kapas said.
“They are recruited through social media [like] WhatsApp and TikTok,” he said. “Cartel members and cartel organizations that target anyone, in particular, target teenagers who want money, if they can make a quick buck.”
The cartels would receive a lump sum payment of $10,000 from the migrants, who were then given three chances to cross the border, Kapas explained.
If they make it through without being arrested, they will meet a cartel-arranged driver in the US who will take them to a predetermined location.
The cartels have been so successful in their recruitment that the police have found people traveling from all over the country to take part in smuggling operations and reap huge salaries.
“We have arrested people, specifically a male subject, who made half a million dollars from smuggling before he was arrested, according to him.”
Suspected illegal immigrants wearing the type of camouflage often provided by cartels who have been paid to arrange passage into the United States James Keivom
Officials believe the Cartel is targeting American minors to be their cross-border smugglers — known as “coyotes” — because they are too young to be fully prosecuted for their crimes in some border states.
“There will be no prosecution, so they can keep doing it over and over again,” Kapas said.
Just last month, Cochise County deputies arrested a 15-year-old boy who did not have immigration with him, but appeared to be involved in several previous operations.
“Check his records again, they’ve been stopped three more times for human trafficking,” Kapas said of the boy, noting all of the violations occurred before 2023.
Migrants will pay cartels thousands of dollars to arrange their illegal crossings into the US, where recruited American teenagers sometimes wait to drive them to designated locations New York Post
To try to combat the problem, in March 2022, Arizona law enforcement launched a multi-agency task force to specifically combat human trafficking, Operation Safe Streets. One of the team’s first initiatives was successfully passing a state law that made human trafficking a state offense, allowing for easier prosecution of juveniles for the crime and hopefully deterring others from participating.
Even with stronger legislation behind them, the police have faced constant difficulties and dangers in catching smugglers. The cartel has told smugglers not to get it “at all costs,” Kapas said, which has led to a series of high-speed car chases.
In one incident, a 17-year-old boy led police on a 100-mile car chase through residential streets, crossing highway medians and speeding into traffic, before police managed to perform a pit maneuver and eventually crushed the car.
“He just thought it was funny,” Kapas said. “He’s still a teenager, nothing will happen to him.”
Both LaClaire and Vert have yet to appear before a judge. Immigrants found in their cars are sent to the US Border Patrol for evaluation.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
