Lawmaker warns children face criminal recruitment

Mexico City lawmaker Laura Alejandra Álvarez Soto warned that the recruitment of children and adolescents by criminal groups is both a security emergency and a serious violation of children’s rights.

According to La Prensa Ciudad de México, Álvarez Soto, president of the Mexico City Congress commission focused on child development and a member of the opposition National Action Party, said civil-society groups and specialists consider the situation grave because tens of thousands of children and adolescents in Mexico are at risk of recruitment or use by criminal groups. She said the lack of a single updated official figure broken down by state shows the need for a national registry.

Álvarez Soto called for training teachers and families to detect recruitment signals, stronger school protocols for absenteeism and behavioral changes, safe reporting and support mechanisms, digital-risk prevention, and access to education, sports, culture, psychological care and opportunities. She also urged the creation of official statistics on the recruitment and use of minors by criminal groups.

La Prensa reported that the lawmaker said criminal groups exploit violence, school dropout, poverty, limited opportunities and family disintegration, while social networks, video games and other digital platforms can be used to contact and lure minors into illegal activity. She called for coordination among authorities, schools, families and specialized organizations, saying child safety should be treated as a national priority.