Mexico Influencer Killing Raises Cartel Fears

Experts in Mexico say the overlap between creators and organized crime can be hard to untangle. Claudia Arruñada, a communications expert at Mexico’s Iberoamerican University, said social media and the criminal underworld can reinforce the same values, especially around consumption, luxury, and rapid success. She said some influencers promote narcoculture by showcasing expensive lifestyles and linking that wealth to cartel power.

Gastélum’s own posts reflected that world of visibility. He often shared images of himself with luxury cars, at nightlife spots, and on trips, along with comedy clips and challenge videos. In one post, he appeared at the grave of another influencer, Leobardo Aispuro, known as “El Gordo Peruci,” who was killed in 2024. That kind of public image, supporters of creators argue, can make young online personalities targets in Culiacán even when they have no direct cartel connection.

The debate intensified earlier this year when leaflets were dropped over Culiacán naming 25 influencers and musicians alleged to have links to La Mayiza, a Sinaloa cartel faction locked in a deadly fight with Los Chapitos. Four of the people named had already been killed and were marked as eliminated, and two more have been killed since. Gastélum was not on that list, but his death now fits the same grim pattern.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday that local and federal authorities would pursue the people responsible for Gastélum’s killing and those who ordered it. Her government has also moved against narcocorridos, songs that glorify criminals, as part of a broader push to separate popular culture from organized crime. The episode matters well beyond Sinaloa because it shows how cartel power can reach into the digital lives of ordinary young creators and shape what Americans see across the border.