Images circulating online appear to show minors allegedly recruited as hitmen for the Northeast Cartel (CDN), a splinter faction of Los Zetas operating in Tamaulipas, Mexico.
The photographs highlight the disturbing involvement of children and adolescents in organized crime structures in the region. According to analyses cited by journalist Juan Cedillo in his book "The Hidden Wars of the Narco", the forced recruitment of minors intensified amid the brutal turf wars between Los Zetas and the Sinaloa Cartel under Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. In this climate of extreme violence, young people from local gangs were often captured and trained by experienced criminals, including former Mexican soldiers and Guatemalan ex-guerrillas.