In the shadow of Mexico’s enduring drug war, a silent and harrowing crisis continues to grow: the systematic recruitment and exploitation of children by the country’s powerful drug cartels. With their youthful loyalty, hunger for belonging, and legal protection as minors, children have become the new frontline in organised crime’s expansion.
Sol, now 20, was just 12 years old when she committed her first murder for a cartel after a kidnapping spiralled into torture and death. Raised in an environment scarred by violence and addiction, Sol had been using methamphetamine since the age of nine. She joined the cartel while selling roses outside a bar, recruited by someone she trusted. By 16, she was arrested for kidnapping—her only conviction—and spent three years in juvenile detention. Today, from a rehabilitation centre in central Mexico, she is trying to rebuild a life once hijacked by trauma and coercion.
Her story is not unique.
Reuters interviewed 16 current and former child cartel members, revealing a pattern of children manipulated, abused, and discarded by criminal organisations that see them as tools—cheap, loyal, and expendable. Many of these children were recruited by friends or family, often from homes already destabilised by drug use, violence, or poverty. Some were drawn in via social media and even video games like Free Fire, where cartels use in-game chats to initiate contact.
One 14-year-old hitman, recruited less than a year ago, admitted he had already killed but considered the trade-off worth it: food, a sense of family, and temporary protection. Others, like Isabel, now 19, were lured in by relatives and suffered harrowing abuse under the guise of mentorship—her case involving a predatory uncle who became both partner and recruiter.
The Mexican government estimates around 30,000 children are involved in criminal organisations, while advocacy groups warn the number of vulnerable children at risk could be as high as 200,000. Despite this, the state has no dedicated programme for rescuing or rehabilitating recruited minors. In many cases, there is no specific criminal legislation prohibiting the recruitment of children into organised crime.
Experts warn that the cultural glorification of cartel life through music, social media, and entertainment has only deepened the appeal among children. In the cartels, these young recruits are known as pollitos de colores or “colourful chicks”—bright, temporary, and doomed not to last long.
“There are parallels with child soldiers in conflict zones like Syria or Sudan,” said Gabriela Ruiz, a youth specialist at Mexico’s National Autonomous University. “But these children are caught in a for-profit machine that uses them and discards them. All they await is death.”
Daniel, another survivor, joined a cartel at 16 after being forced at gunpoint during a party. He spent three years moving up the ranks—from lookout to killer—before fleeing north. Now hiding near the US border, he’s saving money to pay a smuggler to escape a fate he knows all too well.
Meanwhile, Sol is focusing on a future she never imagined possible. She is studying for a law degree with plans to specialise in juvenile justice. Her hope is to mentor at-risk youth and prevent them from being recruited, as she once was.
“I thought I’d die before turning 20,” she said. “Now, I want to help kids survive what I couldn’t escape.”
Also read: UK-born Cypriot suspected of leading cocaine smuggling ring
Source: Reuters
