Thousands of teens are operating as hitmen for Mexican drug cartels

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SAN ANTONIO — Sad numbers are painting a grim picture as to the number of children and teenagers who are being charged with murder in Mexico. Children who are often lured to serve at the cartel’s whim

This video went viral last year in December, captured at an intersection in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. The murderer, an underage boy who carried out this hit in the middle of the day with numerous eyewitnesses around. Three months later he was captured.

According to the state of Chihuahua, he is just one of thousands of kids who commit murder for organized crime.

During a sit-down interview with a Sicario in Chihuahua, he explained why he started killing at the age of 14, “Young kids, 14, 15 years old who kill just for meth. They kill for food. Money for food. My dad was a drunk and there was no money for food, so I had to go out and make money somehow.”

Last year the Attorney General’s office says over 1,800 children were prosecuted in Mexico for murder. This young man is one of 298 in Chihuahua alone being prosecuted for murder. As Fox San Antonio showed you last month, the cartels recruit young children by providing basic necessities. According to former Homeland Security agent in charge Ari Jimenez, the pandemic has created a new recruitment opportunity for the cartels.

“They are targeting the young children growing up in challenge communities. They don’t have anything to look forward to, but the cartel is there to tell them – I am here for you and you can come work for me,” said Jimenez.

The states with the highest number of children prosecuted for murder are Sonora, Jalisco, Chihuahua and the state of Mexico. All states where cartels are strong. In Sonora, the Sinaloa cartel is strong. In Jalisco, CJNG or Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, which as you see in this video was giving food to the poor to help during the pandemic. In Chihuahua, the Juarez cartel and in the state of Mexico a mixture of several cartels.

Law enforcement experts in Mexico state that the situation will get worse as long as there is need and the children can be persuaded to help their families by picking up a gun in the name of a cartel.

Source: Fox News San Antonio

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