(StraightNews.org) – Three people were shot dead on beaches in Acapulco in the space of a week, prompting authorities to deploy armed detectives to the popular tourist area. Violence has flared in the region despite the presence of National Guard officers and thousands of soldiers sent there as part of an emergency response to the Category 5 Hurricane Otis last October. The government said it intends to build several new barracks for the troops to remain in the area, but it seems to have had little impact on gang and cartel shootings so far.
The government of the northern border state of Sonora released a video message warning young Mexicans about ploys used by cartels to dupe them into joining. Prosecutors described how the powerful cartels use advertising aimed at young people on social media, promising jobs and opportunities in other parts of the country. When they arrive, they are forced to work for cartels, according to law enforcement officials, who also warn that young people are killed when they attempt to leave.
Last summer, for example, eight workers at a call center in the city of Guadalajara were murdered when they tried to quit their jobs. Their bodies were later found hacked to pieces in plastic bags. The call center was run by the Jalisco New Generation cartel, considered the most violent in Mexico, and was used to scam money from Americans and Canadians with fake timeshare sales.
A report in 2021 said that the ruthless cartels are known to target children as young as ten years old. One former member told a non-profit group that he committed his first murder at 12, having become “a hired killer.”
The unnamed teenager said he grew up in a poor household and was inducted to cartel life by a neighbor who offered him $1,500. Within a few years, he was torturing rival gang members and had picked up a meth addiction. He said his duties included killing and dissolving victims’ bodies in acid.
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