The fictional world of Roblox is being “exploited” by organized crime gangs, mainly drug trafficking, whose members send violent messages through video games, as evidenced in several publications.
For example, in a report by the Mexican newspaper “Milenio” it is described how a man with a black sweatshirt and a long gun asks the identity of two other men kneeling in front of him. “Name!” he asks them, and following receiving the answer he shoots them.
The publication adds that “the men fall, one by one, leaving behind scattered bloodstains.”
He says that this scene might have taken place on the streets of Mexico, but it did not, since it was created in the fictional world of Roblox, a virtual universe created in 2006 that allows users to easily customize characters and create virtual worlds within the same universe, so narco-propaganda navigates easily in Roblox.
In this way, in another virtual world the pixelated characters represent an operation by the faction of drug trafficker Mayo Zambada, of the Sinaloa cartel, which is known as Operation MZ.
In that scene, an army of armed characters is seen standing in front of a convoy of Hummer trucks. A song enlivens the scene, telling of a man known as ‘El Tigre Flechas’, supposedly a commander of “El Mayo” in northern Mexico.
However, there are those who believe that narco-propaganda has permeated video games for at least the last decade.
But as more video games allow you to customize your characters and settings, games like Roblox have seen a significant increase in users emulating the Sinaloa Cartel, Jalisco Nueva Generación, Los Zetas, or even more regional criminal organizations like “La Línea,” the former armed branch of the Juárez Cartel.
Some video game creators, who are usually young, claim that they make characters for certain people, who must give permission to do so and who sometimes praise the work and claim that it serves as propaganda in the real world.
To enter these virtual universes, you don’t need a secret key or an invitation. The vast majority are open to anyone who wants to join, you just need to type a keyword into the server’s search engine, such as Mayo Zambada or Sinaloa cartel.
In real life, posters send messages to each other or threaten people with banners, but later it moved to YouTube, Facebook or X.
But as the online world becomes more complex, criminal groups have improved their social engineering skills by turning to music videos, TikTok videos and more recently video games.
By reaching platforms like TikTok, YouTube, or video games like Roblox, narco-messages reach a global audience, consolidating their power beyond the real territory they are fighting for, creating international alliances and building a powerful brand.
Whether it’s a narco banner, a TikTok video, or a Roblox video game character, criminal organizations in Mexico will continue to advance online as long as they find an audience.
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