A harrowing experience unfolded this week in Mexico, where a popular social media influencer from Phoenix, Arizona, was kidnapped, and the ordeal was captured on the 25-year-old woman’s Cybertruck’s mounted camera.
According to multiple reports, Nicole Pardo Molina, better known on social media as “La Nicholette,” was visiting her father’s hometown of Isla Musala in Culiacán, Sinaloa, nearly 18 hours north of Mexico City. The city of Culiacán is home to the notorious Sinaloa Cartel.
The video that was captured on Molina’s purple Cybertruck somehow got leaked and quickly spread on social media. The video shows the moment a white Toyota car pulls up next to her truck before men with guns pop out of the vehicle and force her inside.
Authorities Are on the Case
It’s reported that the State Attorney General’s Office is investigating and has issued a missing persons alert. Moreno is described as 5-foot-3, with straight, light brown hair and big brown eyes.
Moreno was last seen wearing a purple top and black shorts. It’s only been a couple of days, but police have not yet shared an update about her disappearance. The motive behind her kidnapping is also not known.
Reports say that the woman’s disappearance, coupled with the Cybetruck found abandoned at the scene, triggered fears for the worst.
Molina went missing on Tuesday. According to the Arizona Republic, Molina was born in Phoenix, but she often spends time in Mexico, where her parents were born.
Molina bosts more than 168,000 followers on Instagram, more than 119,000 followers on TikTok, and she’s also got a strong following on Twitch and OnlyFans.
Her Possible Cartel Ties
She shot to fame in 2023 after she requested — and received — a corrido (or a Mexican ballad) in honor of her birthday.
The corrido is dubbed “La Muchacha del Salado” (The Lady from El Salado). Corridos are widely associated with drug cartels, with Mexican bands paying homage to the various cartels spread throughout Mexico and beyond the border. Cartels often commission bands to send messages via corridos to their rivals.
Molina’s corrido has more than 27 million views on YouTube, and it’s reported that she paid for the self-tribute with money she saved from her Sweet 16 birthday.
What’s more, Molina purportedly capitalized on that fame by launching a jewelry business. She also acquired a clothing store near the mall where she was kidnapped.
The clothing store sells merch featuring drug kingpins, including the infamous Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, who is currently serving a life sentence at a maximum-security federal prison in Colorado.
