During Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) claimed that some migrant children are being used as “drug trafficking mules.” A law enforcement official explained to Vance last month that drug traffickers incorporate children into a false story while transporting drugs, serving as a decoy to deter authorities from engaging them.
Sen. Vance’s statement was indirectly fact-checked during the debate by CBS News moderator Margaret Brennan who posed the question to Governor Tim Walz (D-MN. Walz responded, “The drug mules is not true.” However, Breitbart News reported that a law enforcement official in Georgia shared with Vance how traffickers use children as part of their cover story while moving drugs.
For instance, the traffickers may carry fishing rods in the car along with children to create the appearance of going on vacation. In another case, the traffickers presented themselves as a family headed for a nearby Disney World trip. This tactic is used by drug traffickers to deceive authorities and cover their tracks while transporting drugs across borders or within the country.
Sen. Vance emphasized that children are being exploited in this drug trade, with some even carrying fentanyl-laced candy. He argued that enabling Mexican drug cartels to operate freely in the United States has led to such distressing situations, and they must be stopped.