Teenage Girl Caught In CJNG Cell; It’s Not The First Time

To bolster its armed cells, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) has begun recruiting underage girls, as shown in a video circulating on social media.

The 48-second clip

In a 48-second video, a convoy of at least four pickup trucks is seen, carrying approximately 28 men with weapons and tactical gear.

For four seconds, a young woman with brown hair, visibly underage, is seen walking alongside the trucks, wearing camouflage fatigues and a tactical vest with the initials CJNG.

In the clip, banda music can be heard playing from inside the trucks, and the other men in the convoy can be seen waving to the person filming.

For a few seconds, the person filming is seen wearing a hat with the criminal group’s initials and the phrase “Mencho Special Forces.”

“We’re back again. All Mencho’s people,” says the man filming. According to the account that shared the video, the cell was deployed to confront the Knights Templar in Michoacán.

The image shows the young woman moving freely, wearing tactical gear, as are the other individuals in the clip. She is not carrying any weapons.

‘Drone Operators’

This isn’t the first time a woman has been seen operating for armed groups of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

In September, MILENIO also revealed that women are part of the specialized unit, identified since 2020 as ‘Drone Operators,’ which has its own emblem within the CJNG.

The images show at least ten members of the unit operating a drone in the midst of an armed confrontation.

A woman coordinates the actions via radio, and she and five other individuals take turns providing cover fire while two drones attack the opposing group from the air.

This week, the Navy arrested a woman in Colima who acted as a low-level operative for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. She was identified as Yajaira Berenice “N.” Although she tried to escape upon seeing the authorities, she crashed her motorcycle and was captured in Manzanillo.

Authorities seized 36 doses of methamphetamine, a bag containing 44.51 grams of methamphetamine, as well as cash and communications equipment.

Federal authorities identified her as a key figure in generating violence in Manzanillo.

Unlike the woman who coordinated drones and the operative in Manzanillo, the woman appearing in the recently released video is a minor.

According to the Network for Children’s Rights in Mexico (Redim) and the Reinserta organization, in Mexico there are approximately 250,000 children and adolescents at risk of being recruited by organized crime, due to various risk factors such as poverty, family abandonment and living in areas controlled by criminal groups.

Source: Milenio