Contrary to election-year rhetoric from politicians like former President Donald Trump, Mexican drug cartels don’t rely on migrants crossing the border illegally to bring fentanyl into the country.
The truth is, in many ways, more disturbing. Rather than use undocumented migrants who are already vulnerable to capture and even death, the cartels use people who regularly cross the border legally. And an increasing number of these people are high school and college students.
Local prosecutors charged 26 minors with drug smuggling in 2022, and that number is on track to surpass 30 this year, according to records from San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan’s office
“Organized crime is smart enough to select people who don’t have a criminal record,” Stephan said. “It’s very concerning to see these young high school kids, they are carrying fentanyl, have it strapped on their body and risking their own health.”
Fentanyl is the ideal drug for this type of smuggling. Small quantities of the powerful narcotic fetch big profits. So there is no need for boats, planes and underground tunnels that are often associated with moving tons of product at a time. Fentanyl fits in someone’s breast pocket or the glove compartment of a car.
Well over 90% of all drug seizures happen at legal border crossings like the San Ysidro Port of Entry, where more than 100,000 people cross every day, according to data from Customs and Border Protection (CBP). And more than 86% of all people charged with fentanyl smuggling are U.S. citizens, according to the United States Sentencing Commission.
“They prey on individuals that potentially are in financial hardship,” said Sidney Aki, the director of field operations at CBP’s San Diego Field Office.
Easy prey
Sometimes all it takes is a few hundred dollars or the promise of a shiny new smartphone.
“They’re getting paid a small, nominal fee,” Aki said of young smugglers. “Maybe an Apple iPhone or an Android phone or something of that nature.”
In some cases, people are smuggling fentanyl into San Diego without even knowing it. This happens often enough that Border Patrol agents have a name for these unsuspecting folks — blind mules.
That almost happened to two students at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, according to Southwestern’s Chief Safety Officer Marco Bareno.
Both students live in Tijuana and cross the border to attend classes. They each found GPS tracking devices in the undercarriage of their cars, Bareno said.
“We were able to see what appeared to be a young gentleman attach a device underneath the car —which matched the location of where the student had found it,” said Bareno, referring to security footage.
Students at a commuter school like Southwestern are particularly vulnerable because they have predictable routines, Bareno said.
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“We’re all creatures of habit,” he said. “We usually park in the same location because of its proximity to your classes. So it’s easy to track that car.”
And it’s as easy as attaching the drugs to the car in Tijuana, then picking them up in San Diego — all without the driver even knowing about it, Bareno said.
During orientation, campus police warn students about the dangers of becoming a blind mule — particularly those who live in Tijuana. They encourage students to park their cars in a garage or gated area, if possible.
“It would be irresponsible for our department to say this doesn’t happen because we don’t hear about it,” Bareno said. “We need to be conscious that this is going on.”
The school plans to implement more surveillance technology on campus, he added.
At the DA's Office, Stephan is counting on education and awareness to combat fentanyl smuggling. Her office recently posted a billboard in El Cajon showing faces of 32 San Diegans killed by fentanyl.
“Thirty-two families forever altered,” she said.
It’s part of a larger outreach effort that also involves visiting San Diego’s high school to warn students about the dangers of getting caught up in the drug trade.
“The recruitment is very active and what the cartels tell these kids is that nothing is going to happen to you,” she said.
But with more than 700 San Diegans dying from overdoses every year, Stephan said the consequences are very real.
