Six youths missing in Jalisco and Michoacán as Mexican authorities probe CJNG recruitment

Mexico's Secretary of Security and Protection of the Citizen, Omar García Harfuch, announced that six teenagers who had disappeared after a graduation ceremony in Guadalajara have been located alive. The missing persons—three girls from Jalisco and three boys from Michoacán—were believed to have been recruited by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) for forced labor in the mountains. Harfuch said details of the investigation will be released in the coming days and noted recent arrests, including that of a key recruiter, Commander Lastra, in an army operation.

In a separate incident highlighting the region's violence, a driver of a public transport platform was attacked with a knife in Tlajomulco, Jalisco. The assault underscores the broader climate of crime and cartel-related activities affecting communities across the two states.