Inside the Shocking Livestreamed Murder of Influencers in Mexico - Who's Behind the Killings? (Video)

In this 10 August 2026 published video, host Vincent “Rocco” Vargas who talks with Katarina Szulc about human trafficking and cartel influencer murders.

Katarina Szulc frequently reports on the dark evolution of Mexican cartels, specifically focusing on human trafficking, forced C-sections, and the execution of social media influencers. Her reporting exposes how powerful organizations like the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) have shifted from traditional drug trafficking into hyper-lucrative, brutal human commodity markets.

Szulc broke an unprecedented, grim story regarding the CJNG cartel operating on the U.S.–Mexico border. In Juárez, Mexico, the CJNG has systematically targeted and kidnapped pregnant women. Cartel operatives perform crude, forced cesarean sections on these women inside safehouses to steal their unborn children. The mothers are routinely left to die or are murdered outright. The stolen newborns are then smuggled across the border into El Paso, Texas, where they are sold to American buyers via an underground black market. In her broader reporting on human trafficking, Szulc has embedded in Mexican states like Tlaxcala, highlighting how entire town economies and multi-generational family businesses are sustained exclusively by human trafficking operations.

The on-camera murders of influencers César Gastélum in Culiacán and Valeria Márquez in Jalisco highlight the growing intersection of digital fame and cartel violence in Mexico. These high-profile, livestreamed killings have sparked intense scrutiny of regional safety and prompted investigations into potential links between criminal groups and social media personalities.

Szulc has shed light on how cartels monitor and exploit digital culture, noting the dangerous intersection of social media fame and cartel territory. Szulc notably detailed the tragic case of TikTok influencer Valeria Márquez, who was executed by cartel members while broadcasting live. Cartels target influencers for a variety of reasons, including accidental exposure of cartel operations, extortion, refusing to comply with cartel demands, or simply to send a high-profile message of terror to the public. Szulc’s investigations outline how cartels utilize social media not just to track victims, but also as a tool for propaganda, recruitment, and public executions to exert control over local populations

https://youtu.be/oHiQW8s1Efg

Chapters
(00:00) Kat’s intro — cartels, organized crime, boots on the ground
(11:59) The governor who denies it, the family who profited
(15:03) The car chase — gun pulled on the highway
(22:21) Mexico: the most dangerous country for journalists
(24:01) Valeria Marquez — murdered live on TikTok
(30:26) Cesar Gastelum — a second influencer killed on livestream
(40:30) Why human trafficking is worse than drug trafficking
(48:54) Closing gut-punch