Human smugglers are openly touting their services on Facebook in Central America, and they are given free rein by Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
That’s the shocking revelation from Friday by Richard Grenell, former acting director of the U.S. National Intelligence. He exposed the social media platform for permitting Guatemalan coyotes to use its extensive reach to lure more into paying thousands to be smuggled to the U.S.
Grenell met with Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei last week to discuss actions to assist in halting the mad rush of illegal migrants northward. He posted on X, formerly Twitter, that smugglers charge $10,000 for three attempts to get to the U.S. border.
BREAKING: @Meta Allowing Cartels To Advertise Human Trafficking Services On @facebook! https://t.co/hIhRigOKHT
— John Basham (@JohnBasham) January 13, 2024
The former government official further leveled a disturbing charge against the Biden White House. He said the Democrat-controlled State Department is attempting to intimidate Guatemalan authorities into avoiding criticism of left-wing policies.
Much as the administration is guilty of against U.S. conservatives, Grenell charged the same activities are being carried out in other countries. “It’s unAmerican and just may be illegal,” he said.
As for Zuckerberg and Meta, this is hardly the first instance of the platform being roundly criticized for involvement in human trafficking.
Last March, a lawsuit accused the social media platform of ignoring exploitation through Facebook and Instagram. Investors and pension funds launched the legal action after accusing company officials of shrugging off “systemic evidence” of horrendous activities.
Plaintiffs asserted Meta failed to explain how it addressed the prevailing issue. Therefore, they said, “The only logical inference is that the board has consciously decided to permit Meta’s platform to promote and facilitate human trafficking.”
The company, of course, denied this.
In a statement, Meta said it prohibited such illicit activities “in no uncertain terms.” It declared “The claims in this lawsuit mischaracterize our efforts to combat this type of activity.”
The release added that Facebook and Instagram actively work “to prevent people who seek to exploit others from using our platform.”
Zuckerberg testified before the U.S. Congress in 2019 on the subject of child exploitation. He told lawmakers that this activity was “one of the most serious threats that we focus on.”
Facebook has been accused of being a “lawless no-man’s land” where there exists no liability for human trafficking. Last week’s assertions by Grenell only confirm this tragic perception.
