The intense media focus on the caravans has hamstrung the Mexican cartels, which usually demand payment from migrants traveling north to the U.S. border.
“With such an intense media spotlight, it is extremely toxic for the major cartels or the gangs to be involved with it—from a kidnapping of some of its members or extortion perspective,” said Robert J. Bunker, an adjunct research professor at the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College.
