South American drug cartels open their official sites on the darknet

Ordering drugs on the darknet is no more complicated than buying on Amazon when you know the reference sites. Nevertheless, it is seldom known who is behind the sale of these narcotics. The dealers logically take advantage of this alternative net to cover their tracks. Latin American drug cartels, market leaders, have a new approach and want to take advantage of their popularity to attract buyers, according to a DarkOwl report published this August 9.

The darknet is a network superimposed on the web, but which integrates anonymity functions for its members. A well-known example is the Tor network.

This structure has spotted marketplaces claiming to be the online portals of notorious cartels from Mexico and Colombia. The sites offer the usual services of these organizations: the sale of drugs and assassinations. The administrators specify that the group is an actor “ experienced and recognized in these respective areas. One of the sites promotes respect for privacy on its platform.

More personalized sites since the closure of the major marketplaces

DarkOwl has listed five platforms, each tied to an organization:

• The Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most notorious crime syndicates, based in Mexico. The site offers a variety of illegal products and services.
• The Golf Texas Cartel, also a Mexican coalition, affiliated with Sinaloa.
• Los Urabenos, a Colombian paramilitary group, specializing in cocaine and contract killers.
• The Cartel Jalisco Nuevo Generation (CJNG), associated with the gang of the same name in Mexico. This site prides itself on being the most trusted bulk cocaine seller in the world “.
• Ausline, a platform focused on Australian and New Zealand audiences, created by a major darknet seller who is believed to have direct ties to a Colombian cocaine producer named “Cartel Scorpion”.

There is no evidence to prove that these sites were actually created by these famous cartels, but DarkOwl gives some arguments to establish a clear parentage. First, the closure of the main platforms for the sale of narcotics: the deactivation of Empire, Cannazon, Hydra and Versus has left a vacuum on the darknet, so that criminal organizations will want to create their own, more intimate market place.

In addition, contract killing services – the Sicario – are a specialty of Latin American cartels and these organizations use this reputation to attract new customers.

Finally, these organizations are also known to be extremely violent and trigger-happy. Duplicating their name for one’s own benefit can be a death sentence. The press is also suffering repression since nine journalists have already been murdered in 2022.