Study reveals that more than 2,500 children in Quintana Roo are at risk of being recruited by drug cartels

QUINTANA ROO, (October 13, 2021).- According to data from Redim, 10 percent of minors in Quintana Roo are vulnerable to recruitment by drug cartels in that state, which risks the lives of the girls, boys, and adolescents in Cancun and the rest of the region.

Around 2,577 children are at risk of being recruited by criminal cells that operate in the state; And a total of 8,167 are in a situation of threat.

The foregoing is based on the analysis of the report “Recruitment and use of children and adolescents by criminal groups”, published by the National Citizen Observatory and the Network for the Rights of the Child in Mexico (Redim).

It is worth mentioning that the data is part of a report issued by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) regarding minors who do not attend school, work for a living, or live with a partner.

These records also highlight that more than 500 minors under 18 years of age were charged with a crime in Quintana Roo in the last 12 months. Currently, in Mexico there is no specific classification for the crime of recruitment and use of girls, boys and adolescents and this situation is exploited by the cartels.

Another reason for which minors are recruited is the fact that sentences are “lighter” than those imposed on an adult, for example in the case of qualified homicide, on a minor the sentence is up to 12 years, while for an adult, it ranges between 20 and 40 years in prison.