"Frozen" in San Lázaro: 30 Initiatives Against the Recruitment of Minors by Organized Crime

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat 

The Chamber of Deputies is keeping “frozen” at least 30 initiatives presented during the current legislative session to criminalize the recruitment of children and adolescents by organized crime, and to punish this crime with sentences of 20, 35, 50, and even 140 years in prison.

MILENIO reported this Monday that the Mexican government has made preventing the recruitment of minors under 18 a priority for the next four years, according to the National Program for the Protection of Children and Adolescents 2025-2030 (Pronapinna).

The Network for the Rights of Children in Mexico (Redim) estimates that between 145,000 and 250,000 children and adolescents are at risk of being recruited by organized crime due to their socioeconomic circumstances.

Legislators from all parliamentary groups have stressed the urgency of punishing those who enlist, hire, or abduct minors to force them to participate in the commission of crimes, illicit activities, or armed actions, but so far none of these proposals have progressed.

However, in an interview with MILENIO, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Kenia López, expressed confidence in the willingness of the various political forces to reach agreements and approve the reform against the criminal recruitment of children and adolescents in the next ordinary session.

“Clearly, there is forced recruitment of young people, of adolescents, and that must be stopped. I hope that we can build the agreement so that, in the session that begins in February, this bill becomes an approved law, goes to the Senate, and then becomes effective law to benefit families in Mexico,” emphasized the PAN legislator and proponent of one of the initiatives on this matter. López maintained that the reform must consider both preventive and punitive aspects to prevent the recruitment of young people, but also to severely punish those who recruit them and force them to commit crimes.

The urgency to criminalize and punish the recruitment of minors by organized crime in the Federal Penal Code gained renewed momentum after the assassination of the mayor of Uruapan, Carlos Manzo,  on November 1, at the hands of Víctor Manuel Ubaldo, a 17-year-old identified by the Michoacán Attorney General’s Office as a hitman for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

“It’s a criminal act to force them to commit a crime, as has been clear in several cases, such as that of Carlos Manzo. 17 years old, that is, perhaps that young man who is no longer alive, who committed a very serious crime, was recruited in that way. How many young people, minors or young adults, are used by organized crime? We must put a stop to the exploitation of our young people by organized crime,” said Congressman Ricardo Mejía of the PT party, a proponent of another of the initiatives.

The legislator from Coahuila assured that the Justice Committee plans to convene its members in January to discuss the proposals and establish the criminal offense of forced recruitment of minors by criminal organizations.

“Who is this aimed at? Against the criminal organizations that, through social media, false job offers, or any other means they can use to deceive and then force young people; they recruit them and then turn them into informants, lookouts, and hitmen for organized crime,” he said.

Life imprisonment for recruiters

Among the 30 “stalled” initiatives to define and punish the recruitment of minors by organized crime, the one presented by PAN deputy Héctor Saúl Téllez, and supported by his parliamentary group, stands out for its severity, proposing a sentence of up to 140 years in prison.

“The crime of unlawful recruitment is committed by anyone who uses, enlists, recruits, hires, incorporates, captures, admits, or abducts, and demands, forces, or coerces children and adolescents to participate directly or indirectly in the commission of one or more crimes, illicit or violent activities, hostilities, or armed actions. This crime shall be punishable by eighty to one hundred and forty years of imprisonment,” the initiative states.

With varying nuances in the definition of the crime and differences in the proposed penalties, legislators such as the coordinator of the PRI parliamentary group, Rubén Moreira; the leader of the MC caucus, Ivonne Ortega; Deputy Margarita Zavala, from the PAN; Naty Jiménez, from Morena; Felipe Delgado Carrillo, from the PVEM, as well as Kenia López and Ricardo Mejía, among others, have presented their respective initiatives on the matter, awaiting committee review and discussion in the plenary session.

Seven states at high risk of recruitment

In its hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on November 20 in Miami, Florida, the Network for Children’s Rights in Mexico warned that, according to research conducted in 2021 and updated in 2025, between 145,000 and 250,000 children and adolescents are at risk of being recruited or used by organized crime groups in Mexico.

“Recruitment occurs primarily in territories where violence and impunity have become normalized. REDIM’s studies show common patterns in Veracruz, Michoacán, Mexico City, Puebla, Chiapas, the State of Mexico, and Jalisco, where poverty, school dropout, domestic violence, armed presence, and a lack of protection guarantees converge,” it stated. The organization warned that Mexico lacks a comprehensive, sustained, and specialized public policy to prevent, identify, address, and provide reparations to victims of recruitment, while the current legal framework neither recognizes recruitment as a distinct crime nor guarantees that recruited adolescents are recognized as victims.

Therefore, it urged the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to issue a recommendation to compel the Mexican State to criminalize the offense, establish prevention and early identification mechanisms, and adopt a national program for disengagement and comprehensive reparations.

Sources: Milenio, Borderland Beat Archives

Source: https://www.borderlandbeat.com/2025/12/frozen-in-san-lazaro-30-initiatives.html