Mexican Cartels Are Reportedly Recruiting Colombian Mercenaries To Build Explosives, Fight Turf Wars

Mexican cartels are reportedly recruiting Colombian mercenaries, sometimes unknowingly, to become operatives in their organizations, according to a new report.

Concretely, the LA Times detailed on Monday that some veterans have been lured to the country with the promise of high-end jobs where employers turned out to be cartels. Once there, they have been tasked with training hitmen, building bombs and even fighting in turf wars.

The situation has been acknowledged by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who recently said in a social media publication that the Los Reyes cartel hired "Colombian mercenaries to confront the Mexican state."

One illustrating episode took place last week, when Mexican authorities arrested 11 Colombians in the state of Michoacan in connection with the killing of eight members of the country's National Guard.

Many Colombian veterans end up with meager pensions and little professional perspectives, a situation that has led several of them to work as mercenaries elsewhere. Over 300 have died fighting for Ukraine in the war against Russia, the outlet noted, citing Colombian officials. Colombian nationals have also been linked to the assassinations of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in 2021 and that of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in 2023.

Some, however, were tricked. One of them told the outlet that he thought he was signing up to work with the French Foreign Legion. However, he was flown to Mexico City and then an isolated encampment in Jalisco. They had their phones and passports confiscated and told they were now part of a cartel. "It's either your life or the life of the person in front of you," the person, identified as Freddy, said.

Another person said he was being paid the same amount as in the Colombian military to give weapons training to young recruits, many of whom were under the age of 18 and there against their will. "We were practically slaves," he said.

A former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) head told the outlet that Colombian fighters are an obvious choice because of their experience. "They are wanted for their expertise with the use of IEDs — these guys are experts in these types of techniques. They are training all the gangster sicarios," said Derek Maltz.

The former official added that the presence of these fighters could help the Trump administration's case for military attacks in Mexico. "If it comes down to it, the U.S. government should use all tools in the toolbox to neutralize them," he claimed.