Tecate children recruited by cartels amid fentanyl use

In Tecate, Baja California, children as young as nine are consuming fentanyl and being recruited by criminal organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). According to a report by Zeta Tijuana, minors are being offered doses of drugs or money to serve as lookouts and distributors.

The report highlights that fentanyl is often mixed with marijuana or consumed via wax pens. Recruitment tactics frequently exploit the vulnerability of youth, using promises of protection, money, or a sense of belonging, as well as leveraging addiction and withdrawal symptoms. In some instances, the initial exposure to drugs occurs through adults within the child's own family environment.