University of Miami Scholarly Repository Open Access Dissertations Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2017-12-08 The Dark Side of Social Media: The Case of the Mexican Drug War Nilda M. Garcia University of Miami, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/oa_dissertations Recommended Citation Garcia, Nilda M., "The Dark Side of Social Media: The Case of the Mexican Drug War" (2017). Open Access Dissertations. 2009. https://scholarlyrepository.miami.edu/oa_dissertations/2009 This Open access is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at Scholarly Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI THE DARK SIDE OF SOCIAL MEDIA: THE CASE OF THE MEXICAN DRUG WAR By Nilda M. Garcia A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the University of Miami in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Coral Gables, Florida December 2017 ©2017 Nilda M. Garcia All Rights Reserved UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy THE DARK SIDE OF SOCIAL MEDIA: THE CASE OF THE MEXICAN DRUG WAR Nilda M. Garcia Approved: ________________ _________________ Bruce Bagley, Ph.D. Lilian Yaffe, Ph.D. Professor of International Studies Senior Lecturer of Geography ________________ _________________ Elvira María Restrepo, Ph.D. Guillermo Prado, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Geography Dean of the Graduate School ________________ Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Public Affairs and Security Studies University of Texas Rio Grande Valley GARCIA, NILDA M. (Ph.D., International Studies) The Dark Side of Social Media: The Case of the Mexican Drug War Abstract of a dissertation at the University of Miami. Dissertation supervised by Professor Bruce Bagley. No. of pages in text. (198) The rapid increase in the use of social media during the “war on drugs” in Mexico, especially in the first decades of the 21st century, has stimulated a growing research agenda in academia. To date, this scholarship has focused primarily on investigating the opportunities social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube offer to civilians as organizing mechanisms, to fill the informational vacuum left by the tightly self- censured mainstream media outlets, and as a tool for survival. Yet, in Mexico, the use of these platforms has taken a darker, more sinister turn. Research exploring the use of social media platforms has largely ignored the fact that these communication outlets also provide major opportunities for criminal organizations to engage in public relations strategies, ease their recruitment tactics, send threatening messages to government authorities, civilians, and to warn off potential rivals. With the intent to fill the theoretical and empirical vacuum, this dissertation answers: What is the effect of social media use on drug cartels survival capacity in Mexico? Is the use of social media empowering Mexican drug cartels? To my parents Juan and Nilda with all my love. To all the innocent lives lost in the drug war and their families. To justice and peace. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There is an old saying that says that it is not about the destination, but about the journey. In all these years of sacrifices and obstacles endured, I have come to the realization that the most important part at the end of it all was who I became, what I learned, and most importantly, the people I met and the ones who were there all along the way. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and appreciation to all of them. First, I would like to thank my professors Dr. Bagley and Dr. Gomez-Mera, for all your support and for everything you taught me. Thank you to my advisor Steve, to whom I owe so much; you became a very special person in my life and I will be eternally thankful for everything you have done for me. I also would like to thank my friends and colleagues from the INS department: Hanna, Joana, Yanran, Wenyuan, Diana, Patrick, Esperancita, Danny, and Enrique. I will always cherish our time together. Special thanks to Samantha, for warming my soul with your delicious cooking. To Nicolas and Lili, Carlo and Dan, for always being there for me. To Jonathan, for your beautiful friendship and your heart of gold. To Sebastian, for becoming my best friend and my partner in crime, for making the most stressful times better, for all the laughter, for believing in me. And to Yulia, with whom I shared this experience from beginning to end, thanks for all the memories, the sleepless nights at the library, for being my confidant, my friend, my sister. Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends back home. To my parents, my brother and sister in law. I am immensely grateful for you and for your unconditional love and support. This work would not have been possible without any of you. You will always be in my heart. Thank You! iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF GRAPHS ..................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... ix Chapters INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………. 1 1 THE CONTINUATION OF WAR BY OTHER MEANS ............................. 10 Mexico Narco ………………………………………………………………. 12 The Media’s Censorship and the Adoption of Social Media ……………………………………………………………………. ..... 21 2 MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS’ SURVIVAL CAPACITY AND SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN ENABLING AGENT: THEORY AND METHOD. ............ 29 Mexican Cartels’ Survival Capacity ................................................................ 30 Criminal Organizations on Social Media: “The Social Media Paradox” ........ 43 Social Media in the Mexican Drug War ……………………………………. 48 Theoretical Expectations .................................................................................. 50 Research Design ……………………………………………………………. 51 3 THE SINALOA CARTEL .............................................................................. 61 A Cartel is Born .............................................................................................. 62 Survival Capacity: A Fierce Organization ....................................................... 66 The Sinaloa Cartel on Social Media ............................................................... 74 The Analysis …………………………………………………………………. 89 4 THE ZETAS ................................................................................................... 93 The Origins and Evolution: From Military Elites to Sicarios .......................... 94 Survival Capacity: The Zetas Vice .................................................................. 99 The Zetas on Social Media ............................................................................. 109 The Analysis ................................................................................................... 127 5 THE CABALLEROS TEMPLARIOS ............................................................ 132 The Caballeros Templarios: A Narco-Sect ...................................................... 134 Survival Capacity: the Different Fronts ........................................................... 139 The Caballeros Templarios on Social Media ................................................... 147 The Analysis ………………………………………………………………… 161 iv CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………………... 167 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………… .................................................................................... 182 APPENDIX A .............................................................................................................. 197 APPENDIX B .............................................................................................................. 198 vi LIST OF GRAPHS 3.1 Sinaloa Cartel Reported Clashes 2006-2015 ....................................................... 67 3.2 Sinaloa Cartel Twitter Network Analysis ............................................................ 76 3.3 Sinaloa Cartel Twitter Content Analysis ............................................................. 80 3.4 Sinaloa Cartel YouTube Content Analysis .......................................................... 83 3.5 Sinaloa Cartel Twitter Usage and Reported Clashes 2006-2015 ......................... 89 4.1 The Zetas Reported Clashes 2006-2015 .............................................................. 101 4.2 The Zetas Facebook Network Analysis ............................................................... 112 4.3 The Zetas Facebook Content Analysis ................................................................ 116 4.4 The Zetas YouTube Content Analysis ................................................................. 119 4.5 The Zetas Share of Threats .................................................................................. 121 4.6 The Zetas Facebook Usage and Reported Clashes 2006-2015 ............................ 128 5.1 The Caballeros Templarios Reported Clashes 2011-2015 ................................... 141 5.2 The Caballeros Templarios Facebook Network Analysis ................................... 149 5.3 The Caballeros Templarios Facebook Content