Translated by Tammy Nolan
The Committee for Children’s Rights of the Chamber of Deputies approved reforms to the Child and Adolescent Protection Law on behalf of minors recruited by organized crime.
According to the explanatory memorandum, criminal organizations “enslave” 25,000 minors.
It is also included in the document that in Morelos, Puebla, Guerrero and the Federal District, they have detected 450 wholesale drug distribution points that supply the so-called “narco-tienditas” (mini -drug shops), which are, in turn, run by teams of ten adolescents, of which six are armed.
Based on data from the Save the Children organization, around 4,500 children are involved in "security" work in criminal groups and at least 2,700 carry weapons. This situation derives from the integration into drug cartels of armed operative teams with military and paramilitary models used to control territories disputed by rival groups.
According to Save the Children, criminal gangs have found ways to force minors to do jobs and be “slaves” of the drug traffickers, whether through kidnapping, deceit or coercion, usually accompanied by physical and emotional violence.
They point out, as well, that those minors implicated in serious crimes like homicide, kidnapping, rape, and others, receive punishments with exemplary purposes. Nonetheless,
“what is really necessary is to prevent and eradicate the phenomenon of forceful recruiting of children and adolescents.”The reform, endorsed by committees, amends Article 21 of the Child and Adolescent Protection Law with the guarantee of protection from acts or willful omissions which can affect their physical, mental, emotional and sexual health, their development or their right to an education in the terms established in Article 3 of the Constitution.
It also provides for protection of minors affected by
“armed conflict, natural disasters, refugee or displacement scenarios and recruitment actions to participate in armed conflicts and organized crime.”According to information from the National Defense Secretary, between 2006 and 2012, 2,714 minors associated with organized crimes were detained; 372 were female.
The document, released by the National Defense Secretary through the Transparency Law, reveals that 2011 saw the highest number of detained minors at 941, while a year later in 2012, the number was 700.
The federal agency adds that Tamaulipas with 700 was the state with the most cases of detained minors, followed by Coahuila with 104, Nuevo León with 66, Veracruz with 37, and Guerrero with 31.
One of the most significant cases of minors linked to organized crime is that of Édgar N., 'El Ponchis', detained in Morelos in 2010. According to local authorities, El Ponchis began to conspire with criminals at 14 years of age and is associated with various illicit activities such as executions, kidnappings and torture.
The legislative committee also approved an initiative to strengthen protection of minors from harmful content during their Internet navigating time. The draft bill emphasizes that new technologies have become a means of committing serious crimes such as trafficking, kidnapping and extortion.
“This problem is worsened when children and adolescents are exposed to risks like access to adult web pages or pages with explicit material, scenes of violence, consumption of toxic substances and betting”, observes the document approved by legislative committees.