Mexican cartels are exploiting U.S. rental car loopholes to steal thousands of luxury SUVs and trucks, converting some into heavily armored vehicles for cartel warfare.
That’s right. They just rent the cars in the United States and drive them right across the border, never to be seen in America again.
Every year, thousands of rental cars vanish into Mexico, according to a new report by El País. The stolen vehicles include pickup trucks utilized in drug trafficking operations and luxury SUVs used by cartel executives.
The cartels have their favorite vehicles to steal
BMW SUVs and Cadillac Escalades are two especially popular models among the cartels. Trucks, such as Ford Raptors and Chevy Suburbans, are also transformed into “mutant tanks” by adding gun mounts, firing ports, and ballistic-proof steel plating.
“Anything that can drive through tough terrain to get away from border patrol so they can move dope,” Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Juvey Mejia, a member of the Task Force for Regional Auto Theft Prevention, told the El Pais.
California is one of the easiest states to pull off these rental car thefts
Cartels have stolen cars from as far away as New York, Chicago, and Miami, according to law enforcement. Most thefts occur in border states, especially Texas, but California is the main target.
According to El Pais, California’s stringent privacy rules regarding GPS tracking of rental cars contribute to the state’s high theft rates. Unlike many other states, California requires rental car companies to delay activating GPS tracking until after the renter is informed and the car’s return time has passed. By then, the majority of the stolen rental cars have already traveled well into Mexico.
“California allows criminals to take advantage of the fact that we are not allowed to see where the vehicle is until it’s too late,” Laguana said.
How do they carry out these vehicle thefts, and why?
Recruiting people via social media to rent cars from American companies is one approach the cartels take to acquire the vehicles. The keys are left inside the cars by the renters so that others can pick them up and head south.
In other cases, the criminals obtain rentals online or at airport kiosks using stolen identities. Corrupt officials sometimes help set up fake local registration and license plates after the vehicles enter Mexico.
“For the cartel, it is the cheapest way for them to do business,” said Kevin Carter, owner of Collateral Consultants, a rental car recovery company in Texas. “There’s no sense in them buying a car when they could rent one for a few hundred bucks, and it’s theirs forever.”