Mexican cartels have ramped up their efforts to recruit vulnerable children by travelling to fast-food spots like McDonald’s. Thousands of abductions have been flagged to police
Thousands of young children have allegedly been abducted by cartel members after they targeted them in McDonalds as part of a vile new recruitment strategy.
The sick method sees Mexican gangs creeping around takeaway spots and luring kids to unknowingly join the underworld. According to local media, the children are promised a better life or lucrative jobs, before they are kidnapped by the cartels.
It has been reported that the gangsters offer them a free vacation and then force then teens into a life of crime. Heartbroken families continue to hunt for their missing children following the abductions.
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Publication Milenio revealed that the fast-food joints are unaware of the operations taking place. Once the kids are further lured away after being given a fake all-expenses paid for trip, they are ordered to undergo intense training for a month. They are not allowed any outside contact during that time.
A text conversation in the report shows an operative saying that cartels no longer make recruits fight and kill each other to harden them. “It’s not like before, they don’t do it anymore” reads a passage of the exchange with the member of the Jalisco Cartel, designated as a terrorist organisation earlier this year by the U.S.
University of Guadalajara previously reported on an unexplained spike of missing people aged between 15 and 19, with at least 122 reports related to people that age. It added that over 600 people were reported missing in the state of Jalisco between January and April this year. It has also been said that kids as young as six have been involved in the disappearances.
Reuters spoke to a 14-year-old swept up in the cartel world. He said: “You join with your death sentence already signed. But it’s worth it.” He claims the gangs offer food, shelter and even a sense of family. Gabriela Ruiz, who works at Mexico’s National Autonomous University, described the children as “disposable”.
According to him, the cartels pretend the children are their family, which allow the kids to follow them blindly. The U.S. Bureau of International Labor Affairs said an estimated 30,000 children are involved in criminal groups in Mexico, and advocacy groups warn that up to 200,000 are vulnerable to recruitment.
The Mirror has contacted global relations at McDonald’s.