I Never Got The Chance to Live My Life

The video starts in the dark, somewhere out in the brush. The only thing you really see is the beam of a light hitting a kid sitting on the ground. Red T-shirt. Blue jeans. Hands pulled behind his back. Gravel and dirt all around him. Someone is standing over him filming.

He looks young. Younger than most of the guys you usually see in these videos.

A voice off camera tells him to speak.

The first thing out of his mouth is for his mom.

“Mom, I love you a lot.”

From there the men around him start feeding him what to say. They tell him to warn the mothers out there. Tell them not to let their kids get pulled into this business. To pay attention to who they’re hanging around with.

He repeats everything slowly, almost like he’s trying to keep himself from breaking down.

At one point they tell him to say who’s responsible.

“The Cabreras,” he says.

Another voice tells him to show people where he ended up.

“Look at where I’m at now,” the kid says, looking down at the dirt for a second before lifting his head back toward the light.

He keeps coming back to his mom. Apologizing. Telling her to take care of his sister. Telling people in Durango not to get involved in this life because it isn’t worth it.

Then the questioning starts.

How many people were with you?

Two.

How many total?

Thirty-one.

Who’s doing the recruiting?

He says he got a number from a girl everyone calls “China.” Says he doesn’t actually know her, just the nickname. Claims she hangs around the Carril 2000 area.

They push him for more names. He mentions Solís and Camacho, both from Durango. Says they’re the ones bringing kids like him into this.

According to him, the pitch was simple work. Something like taking care of cattle.

But when they got there, it was something else entirely.

They were being sent out to fight.

The promised pay?

Twenty thousand a month.

One of the men behind the camera mocks him for it. Says he’s about to lose his life for twenty thousand pesos.

Near the end the kid sends one last message.

He asks his mom to tell his brother to get out of this life while he still can.

He says he loves her again.

Then he says goodbye.

Transcribed and translated by Sol Prendido.

Sicario #1: Go ahead and speak.

Captive: Mom, I love you a lot.

Sicario #1: Let everyone know, all of the mothers…

Captive: Let everyone know, all of the mothers not to allow their kids into this business.

Sicario #1: They need to take care of them…

Captive: They need to take care of them, pay attention to who they hang out with.

Sicario #2: Say that the Cabreras mob is kidnapping them.

Captive: The Cabrera mob is kidnapping them.

Sicario #3: Let them know where you’re at.

Captive: Take a look at where I’m at now. Don’t ever forget how much I love you mom.

Sicario #3: None of this is just.

Captive: None of this is just.

Sicario #3: Take a look at where I’m at now.

Captive: Take a look at where I’m at now.

Sicario #3: I never got the chance to live my life.

Sicario #1: So, what else do you have to say?

Captive: Well, forgive me mom for everything. I love you a lot.

Sicario #3: Send everyone in Durango a message.

Captive: Mom, tell everyone in Durango not to get involved in these affairs. This isn’t a life worth living.

Sicario #1: Say that kids are being abducted.

Captive: They’re even kidnapping adolescent females. Take care of yourself and my sister.

Sicario #3: How many guys were with you?

Captive: Two.

Sicario #4: How many of you were there?

Captive: Thirty one.

Sicario #3: Who’s committing the abductions?

Captive: The Cabreras.

Sicario #3: You mother fucking cowardly Cabreras!

Sicario #1: How are you guys contacted?

Captive: I was given a number by a female friend.

Sicario #1: What’s her name?

Captive: China. Everyone calls here China.

Sicario #3: Speak louder.

Captive: She’s known as China.

Sicario #4: Do you personally know her?

Captive: No.

Sicario #3: Where does she live?

Captive: She lives by the Carril 2000 venue.

Sicario #4: Tell us about the other individual.

Captive: I honestly don’t know what his name is. I also know Solis and Camacho. They’re both from Durango.

Sicario #4: What was that?

Captive: Camacho and Solis. They’re both from Durango.

Sicario #4: Say that they’re the ones who contracted you.

Captive: They’re the ones who contracted adolescents like me.

Sicario #1: And they send you to fight.

Captive: They send us out to fight without knowing anything.

Sicario #4: Say that you’re told you’ll be taking care of cattle.

Captive: We’re promised one thing…

Sicario #3: And it’s another…

Captive: And it’s another…

Sicario #1: How much did they promise to pay you guys?

Captive: Twenty grand a month.

Sicario #3: Twenty grand a month?.

Captive: Yes.

Sicario #3: How surprising. You’re going to lose your life for twenty grand a month. Do you realize how fucking stupid you are? Go ahead and remind you brother to get out of this lifestyle.

Captive: Mom, let my brother know that he needs to get out of this lifestyle. I love you a lot. Take care of yourself and my sister.

Sicario #5: Say goodbye.

Captive: Goodbye.

The video ends without showing what ultimately happened to the captive. As of this publication, his fate remains unknown. If more information emerges, I will provide an update.

Street view of the Carril Dutango 2000.