Mexico's cartels recruit armed minors in Michoacán and Sinaloa

Authorities in Mexico disclosed that criminal groups, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), are using social‑media platforms such as Facebook and online gaming to lure children and adolescents with false job offers. The recruitment process begins online, followed by logistical support that covers transportation to designated sites in the Tierra Caliente region of Michoacán. Victims are then forced to perform tasks ranging from surveillance of authorities to drug trafficking and, in severe cases, participation in violent crimes.

The pattern has been identified in several states with strong cartel presence—Jalisco, Zacatecas, Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Sinaloa, Sonora, Chiapas, the State of Mexico and Puebla. A recent case in Amozoc, Puebla involved a group of 12 youths who disappeared after accepting a purported employment offer; ten were rescued alive weeks later. In Sinaloa, a Google Street View image inadvertently captured six heavily armed individuals, several of whom appeared to be minors, patrolling a road near Culiacán with AK‑47s and ballistic gear. The visual evidence has intensified criticism of federal and state security policies and highlighted the deepening involvement of children in organized crime.