The security crisis in Mexico is an issue that affects the country’s children, who in recent years have fallen victim to organized crime in several states.
Through “job offers” on social media, members of criminal organizations advertise large sums of money in exchange for easy and enticing jobs, primarily attracting the attention of minors.
Sonora tops the list of regions with an increase in the recruitment of children by cartels.
The main indication of this increase is related to the criminal groups’ need to expand their ranks, opting to recruit the youngest members to subject them to aggressive and violent training.
The losses among members of these organizations resulting from constant clashes and arrests have led to the current recruitment of children as young as 8 and 9 years old, a consequence of a security crisis that impacts the country daily.
According to the 2025 Annual Report of the Network for Children’s Rights in Mexico (Redim), between 2023 and 2024, the number of minors likely recruited by criminal groups increased by 20.6%.
Between 338 and 1,084 young people were deprived of their liberty nationwide during 2024 for crimes related to criminal organizations.
Most of those detained are classified as potential recruitment victims, having been abducted to perform tasks linked to criminal activity. The states of Mexico, Sonora, and Chihuahua are where the most disappearances of minors were recorded.
Children have become the most vulnerable sector for cartels, which often exploit poverty by offering better living conditions and large sums of money to entice them with the promise of a dream life.
To date, there are no official figures on how many incarcerated children have been recruited by drug cartels, but according to data from the Network for Children’s Rights in Mexico (Redim), the numbers have increased in recent years.
According to a report by the National Citizen Observatory in collaboration with Redim, the vulnerability of children in Mexico is one of the main factors driving these criminal practices. Geographic location and its respective divisions and configurations are key factors in their potential to become victims of recruitment.
Economic hardship, abandonment, and victimization through domestic violence also directly influence criminal groups’ ability to manipulate children, who mostly live in highly dangerous areas controlled by these organizations.
Given this situation, it is necessary to raise awareness of these issues in order to implement the necessary measures focused on the well-being of children. We reiterate the call to parents to monitor the websites their children visit on social media to prevent them from falling victim to job scams that could lead to their being deprived of their freedom.
Source: infobae
