SAN ANTONIO — Big wads of cash, guns, and an easy profit. It’s a message Mexican drug cartels are sharing on social media to recruit teenagers into the criminal world of human smuggling, according to U.S Homeland Security.
But as many teens quickly find out, officials say, the dangers of working with criminal organizations may bring life-long consequences.
Early last year, a 15-year-old driver from San Antonio was arrested after leading Texas DPS Troopers on a high-speed chase in Frio County.
The teen driver lost control of the truck and rolled over an overpass.
The 15-year-old driver and his 12-year-old passenger were arrested according to DPS.
Dash and body camera video from the Texas Department of Public Safety shows the chaos happening on the Southwest border over the last year, including high speed chases, rollover crashes, and behind the wheel in many incidents are teenagers.
U.S. Homeland Security said the trend has sparked a growing concern among law enforcement.
“When you were a teenager or when you know when you have teenagers,they think nothing bad is going to happen. They're invincible,” said Craig Larabee, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security San Antonio.
“It’s a recipe for disaster,” Larabee added.
Larabee said trans-national criminal organizations are actively recruiting teens to smuggle migrants.
“We see that in smaller vehicles where you're seeing this recruitment of younger people to go use their passenger vehicles or pickup trucks or anything to go pick up migrants and bring them, to a different location,” said Larabee.
Last month, a 15-year-old girl was arrested for human smuggling after leading Troopers on a high-speed chase through Hidalgo County, according to DPS.
The girl’s 14-year-old brother was also charged.
Larabee said some of the teens may not even have a driver’s license or might have just earned their license.
Furthermore, Larabee said the teens are being recruited from big cities like San Antonio, Houston and Austin, and not accustomed to driving on rural ranch roads.
“The next thing you know, it could be a disaster,” said Larabee.
Larabee said criminal organizations are luring teens on social media with a message of easy money.
“It's just money. It's just money, and you'll see the ads. They'll make a thousand dollars, $5,000 for one drive,” said Larabee.
The ads on social media create the image of a quick profit.
“It's big wads of cash money,” said Larabee. “Make your money, come get your money.”
According to Larabee, the recruitment efforts on social media can reach a large audience quickly.
“You put it out there and it share so many times that you can strike out 99% of the time,” said Larabee. “All you need is at 1% of the time.”
Officials said teens may think they’re signing up for a big payout, but don’t understand what they’re getting into.
“Easy money may be easy money for a short-term, but long-term consequences, you know, you're bound to get caught,” said Larabee.
But, getting caught isn’t the only danger these teens are facing.
"They're now entering into an agreement with a transnational criminal organization that may have very bad ties,” said Larabee. “They don't care about you. Once you're in, it's not easy to get out.”
“You don't know what you're getting yourself into,” he added.