Abstract

IZCARA PALACIOS, Simón Pedro. Migrant Smuggling and Terrorism: An Unfounded Connection. Polít. gob [online]. 2017, vol.24, n.2, pp.333-369. ISSN 1665-2037.

The threat of transnational organized crime is a major concern in the international arena. This article, based on qualitative interviews with 133 migrant smugglers operating in the border between Mexico and the United States, aims to examine if migrant smuggling networks operating in Mexico carry terrorist to the United States. This paper concludes that although half of the respondents thought that the terrorists could reach the United States using migrant smuggling networks, none had direct knowledge about the passage of terrorists through the border between Mexico and the United States. Moreover, the data collected indicate that it is unlikely that Mexican migrant smugglers could stablish alliances with terrorist groups.

Keywords : migrant smuggling; terrorism; undocumented migration; Mexico; United States.