They are too young to buy a beer and barely old enough to drive, yet these four teenage boys have already found their way into the criminal underworld.
On weekends, they drive into the Sonoran Desert outside Phoenix. I watched them line up AR-15s and AK-style rifles against their cars, pose for photos and spend the afternoon shooting targets. At night, they head to parties, smoke pot and scroll endlessly through their social media feeds.
These teenagers are part of a growing network of American high school students and young adults who are helping to arm some of Mexico’s most powerful and violent cartels, according to U.S. officials and trafficking experts who are tracking the trend. They source weapons like handguns and high-caliber rifles, and sell them almost exclusively to cartel operatives based in the United States, the teenagers said.
In repeated interviews, four weapons traffickers ages 16 to 19 — all current or former high school students in west Phoenix — allowed me to observe how they buy firearms and sell them to the highest bidder. Sometimes, they said, they steal the guns and then resell them. They aren’t loyal to one criminal group or another; instead, they say, they are motivated by making money, gaining status and having a sense of belonging.
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The American teenagers spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the illegal nature of their activities. Their identities were corroborated through their official identification documents. I observed gun transactions unfold in real time through encrypted WhatsApp group chats and Telegram channels. Other elements of their accounts were corroborated by current and former U.S. law enforcement agents and trafficking experts.
“After my first gun sale I thought, this is it, I am set,” said one 18-year-old trafficker who goes by El Flaco, Spanish for “Skinny.” “I don’t want to be poor, and why would I if I found a way not to be?”
While the numbers are hard to track, the U.S. authorities say Mexican criminal groups are increasingly relying on teenagers and young adults in border states like Arizona. The proximity to Mexico, a large presence of U.S.-based cartel operatives and the promise of easy money have helped such networks flourish, according to current and former law enforcement officials.
