Editing People smuggling (section)

==Major players==

With smugglers operating from numerous countries across the globe, there are myriad minor and major players within the people smuggling scene. Of wide and notable repute, however, are the Snakeheads and Coyotes, which operate in the business of smuggling Chinese and Mexican migrants, respectively.

===Snakeheads===
{{Further|Snakehead (gang)}}
The name "Snakehead" refers to those underground players who operate in facilitating the illicit transport of Chinese migrants into countries like the United States and other Western countries. (The name originates from the fact that the lines of emigrants sneaking under borders is said to look like a snake.) Operating in an extensive transnational black market, Snakeheads reap considerable profits from their smuggling operations and both are regarded and consider themselves not as criminals but as resourceful guides. The earliest snakeheads went into business around the 1970s ferrying customers from Fuzhou or Changle into Hong Kong. Today, Snakehead operations have expanded enormously into other countries; however, the majority of Snakehead customers still originate from the Fujian province in China. One of the most notable Snakeheads was [[Sister Ping]], who ran a successful and extensive smuggling operation in New York from 1984 to 2000, when she was finally caught by authorities following the disaster involving the ''[[Golden Venture]]''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7DH6AwAAQBAJ&q=international+law+of+migrant+smuggling&pg=PR1 |title=The International Law of Migrant Smuggling |first1=Anne T. |last1=Gallagher |first2=Fiona |last2=David |date=21 July 2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |via=Google Books |isbn=9781139991988}} p.4-5</ref>

===Coyotes===
{{Further|Coyote (person)}}
"Coyotes" is the name for smugglers who facilitate the migration of people across the [[Mexico–United States border|Mexico–United States]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Slack |first1=Heremy |last2=Martinez |first2=Daniel E. |date=21 February 2018 |title=What Makes a Good Human Smuggler? The Differences between Satisfaction with and Recommendation of Coyotes on the U.S.-Mexico Border |journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |volume=676 |pages=152–173 |doi=10.1177/0002716217750562|s2cid=148732007 }}<br />{{cite news |last=Bonmati |first=Damia S. |date=21 December 2016 |title=A day in the life of a coyote: smuggling migrants from Mexico to the United States |url=https://www.univision.com/univision-news/immigration/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-coyote-smuggling-migrants-from-mexico-to-the-united-states |work=Univision News |access-date=9 September 2018}}<br />{{cite news |last=Koran |first=Mario |date=21 September 2017 |title='It's a New Generation of Smugglers': Behind the Business of Illegal Border Crossings |url=https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/border/its-a-new-generation-of-smugglers-behind-the-business-of-illegal-border-crossings/ |work=Voice of San Diego |access-date=9 September 2018}}<br />{{cite news |last=Burnett |first=John |date=15 July 2014 |title=Who Is Smuggling Immigrant Children Across The Border? |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/07/15/331477447/who-is-smuggling-immigrant-children-across-the-border |work=National Public Radio |access-date=9 September 2018}}</ref> and [[Bolivia–Chile relations|Bolivia–Chile]] borders.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/29/caribbean-migrants-chile-desert-minefield |title=Caribbean migrants risk danger and discrimination for a new life in Chile |first=Piotr |last=Kozak |date=29 June 2017 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=2024-12-23}}</ref> Another term used for [[Minor (law)|minors]] who smuggle people across the Mexico–United States border is "[[wikt:pollero|polleros]]".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Holman |first1=John |last2=Melesio |first2=Lucina |date=30 October 2017 |title=Mexico cartels recruit children to smuggle people to US |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/10/mexico-cartels-recruit-children-smuggle-people-171030103553245.html |work=Al Jazeera |access-date=9 September 2018}}<br />{{cite news |date=2002 |title=Extended Interview: A Human Smuggler |url=http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/mexico704/interview/smuggler.html |work=Frontline |publisher=WGBH Educational Foundation |access-date=9 September 2018}}</ref> Once dominated by local smugglers charging relatively small sums, the business landscape has changed as larger, well-organized syndicates have entered the smuggling industry in Mexico. Over the years, Coyotes have become more sophisticated in their operations, as technological advances have allowed them to streamline and add further complexity to their business.