Officials detail potential reasons for alarming trend as 20th influencer is graphically killed

Another influencer, Jose Luis Esparza, has been killed in Mexico, with officials speculating about potential links to organised crime groups in the area. 

Jose was a content creator on Instagram and TikTok under the alias El Putirrí, and he predominantly made wholesome content about his daily life. Last week, he was working in his family’s taquería in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico, when a single man walked in and opened fire. The gunman then fled the scene with an accomplice on a motorbike. Jose died after being rushed to the hospital. 

Already, authorities have questioned possible links to local cartels. 

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Mexican security communications consultant Iván Moile told The New York Post that Jose might have been a “collateral target” because he was allegedly “related to someone deeply involved” in that world. 

“It served as a message,” the expert said. 

Perhaps more alarmingly, Jose Luis Esparza was the latest fatality in a concerning trend emerging in Mexico. 

Why are so many influencers being killed in Mexico? 

As reported by The New York Post, over two years, there have been at least 20 influencers killed in increasingly awful ways. 

The most famous was undoubtedly Valeria Márquez, an influencer who was shot during a livestream at her job. The now-viral video, which was filmed in 2025, captured pretty much everything. Her ex-father-in-law, Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, was arrested earlier this year in connection with both Valeria’s death and the cartel hit on Mayor Carlos Manzo. 

Credit: SSPC

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Another influencer with 600k followers, César Gastélum, was gunned down last month whilst livestreaming outside of a KFC. Similarly, in 2024, Rafael Lazcano Rosales was shot outside of a car dealership. 

Outlets counted at least 20 different killings across two years, with Mexico’s security analyst, David Saucedo, theorising some potential reasons. 

“Drug trafficking groups have set their sights on influencers for several reasons,” he said. “Some influencers form organic ties with drug traffickers for various activities, such as money laundering or acting as front men… when a rival group discovers that an influencer is acting as a front man or laundering money for the opposition, an attack is automatically triggered.”

 

 

 

 

 

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But there’s another reason as well. 

“In some cases, although influencers are not journalists, they do disseminate information and report on events in their home states or municipalities,” he added. “Drug trafficking groups are keen to control the editorial narrative—specifically, what is said about them, their rivals, or the authorities.”

María Fernanda Arocha, from ACLED, also questioned whether there’s a social media aspect to the trend. The lavish lives of the influencers, especially those in close proximity to gangs, could help those cartels recruit new members, she told CNN. 

The situation is ongoing. 

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Featured image credit: Instagram