From the states of Mexico and Jalisco to the interior of Michoacán, drug cartels continue their attempts to recruit young people, though in recent cases, recruitment is no longer forced but rather voluntary.
Social media, the main tool for recruiting young people
According to the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE), four recruitment attempts have been detected recently, the last two of which involved voluntary participation without any violence.
Contact is established through social media, which authorities classify as “open sources.” A complex logistical operation is employed, including paying for transportation from their place of origin and providing further transport upon arrival at the meeting point.
This was the case, for example, with a young woman from Jalisco who was intercepted on her way to the Tierra Caliente region earlier this month.
Carlos Torres Piña, Attorney General of Michoacán, said:
“The first case involved a young woman from Jalisco, whose bus was intercepted en route to this area of Tierra Caliente.”
Last week, another woman from the State of Mexico was also located in the community of Cenobio Moreno, in the municipality of Apatzingán.
“The second case occurred a couple of weeks ago, also involving a young woman from the State of Mexico who, according to coordinated efforts with State of Mexico authorities, had boarded a bus from that state to travel to Michoacán. She was found in the community of Cenobio Moreno,” the Attorney General stated.
Recently, in this same region, two young people from Pamatácuaro, in Uruapan, were located.
Regarding this last case, Attorney General Carlos Torres Piña explained that two people were arrested, including a taxi driver who was responsible for transporting the minors, who showed no signs of injury.
The Michoacán state prosecutor stated:
“The videos show them getting into the vehicles voluntarily, moving from one vehicle to another voluntarily. There was no coercion; they did it willingly. Finally, thanks to the operations carried out by different law enforcement agencies and the distribution of missing persons alerts, they were found in Apatzingán.”
According to surveillance cameras, the minors consented at all times and were moved between several vehicles. However, they were located after their own families issued missing persons reports.
The prosecutor’s office warns of an increase in recruitment attempts.
“Based on recent events, this is the third case we have detected with these characteristics and modus operandi. We have seen that, through open sources, they have tried to recruit young people using these methods I mentioned; these are the four most recent cases,” the prosecutor said.
According to security sources, groups like the Jalisco New Generation Cartel are using social media as bait to recruit young people.
Source: unotv
