Experts Find Little Evidence Connecting Drug, Human Smugglers

By Adrianna McGinley

Distinguished professors and researchers from Mexico, Arizona and California agreed Friday at a panel discussion hosted by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars that there is virtually no evidence linking the drug cartels with human smuggling from Mexico. 

Dr. Gabriella Sanchez, Senior Researcher at the University of Maryland’s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, said that in a case study involving 66 known human smugglers in Arizona, she found no evidence connecting violent organized crime to human smuggling.

“There’s no indication or evidence of collaboration among criminal groups and smuggling activities,” Sanchez said. “Among the smugglers, there’s really no true interest in participating in other activities that while more profitable, will actually increase the risk of prosecution. This is especially the case of families with children.”

Sanchez also said she found no indication of ties to drug smuggling in her sample group. 

Erik Lee, Associate Director of the North American Center for Transborder Studies, emphasized that the panel was discussing human smuggling, which involves some degree of consent, not human trafficking, which involves force or coercion and where ties to violence and other organized crime may be more prominent.