Overview

• Published on the European Commission’s Zenodo platform, the PACCTO 2.0 study by UNAM researcher Juan Manuel Aguilar Antonio details how the Cártel de Sinaloa and CJNG deploy algorithms, bots and automation in day-to-day operations.
• The report documents tactics such as automated extortion using voice cloning, deepfakes for deception, smishing campaigns, and route-optimization tools for drug transport.
• Investigators cite cases of hacking and adversarial intelligence, including access to Mexico City surveillance systems and data theft from an FBI agent’s phone attributed to the Cártel de Sinaloa by the U.S. Department of Justice.
• The study flags a growing market of crime-as-a-service platforms like FraudGPT, DarkBARD and Xanthorox AI that sell identity cloning and malware generation to non-technical users.
• CJNG’s creation of a drone unit that integrates AI for surveillance illustrates militarized adoption, while recommended countermeasures include AI-focused digital forensics units, audits of malicious platforms, public–private cooperation, regional data-sharing, and training for prosecutors.