Guadalajara: Narcos Use Social Networks to Deceive and Recruit Hitmen

"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

Criminal groups such as the CJNG publish job or travel offers with which they deceive young people and take them under threat to be hitmen. 

Antonio, 17 years old, disappeared in Guadalajara on October 2, 2017, and a week later he was rescued from a farm in Puerto Vallarta, where he was held against his will along with five other people who were waiting to be transferred to a place "on the hill," where they would be trained to become hitmen of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

For years, the Jalisco prosecutor's office has detected that this cartel uses Facebook and Twitter to deceive young people through false job offers and then force them to join the criminal group; although the state agency warns about this type of announcement through posts on those social networks, there is no investigation folder open.

In addition, the prosecutor's office only warns of advertisements that offer places such as security guards or escorts; however, it leaves aside those in which the supposed job offers are for assistants, loaders, waiters, drivers, day laborers, or even, just to go to have fun for a few days at some tourist destination.

After Antonio's rescue, the prosecution arrested 19 subjects, of whom 14 were sentenced to four years in prison for disappearance committed by private individuals; the following account is reconstructed from the files of those sentences.

The case of Antonio

On the afternoon of September 29, 2017, Antonio (fake name for security reasons) found a job offer on Facebook, and although the phone number was from Veracruz, he called to see what it was; the man who answered asked him where he lived, and upon learning that he was in Guadalajara, he told him that the company had people in that city and someone would call him.

Minutes later his phone rang, it was a Guadalajara number. The man who spoke asked him if he wanted to work; "yes," Antonio replied and his interlocutor told him that someone else would call to tell him what he had to do.

The next call made him doubt and scared him: "What’s up, motherfucker, get your things ready I'm going coming through for you," said one guy; "wait, first tell me what the work is about and we'll see," Antonio replied; "I'm coming for you, you said you wanted the job," the man insisted and hung up.

Three hours later they called him again: "I'm already outside your house, gather your belongings, we are in a Ford Figo car on the corner of your house, in front of the inn"; Antonio had not given them his address and although he was afraid he decided to go out to see if it was true: he put on some headphones and walked around the block to try to go unnoticed, he saw the car and two subjects inside, he wanted to pass by, but one of them shouted at him by name, he was paralyzed, the subject ordered him to approach, introduced himself and told him that the company was in Puerto Vallarta, they would take him there and pay him 4,000 pesos per week.

Antonio tried to buy time, he agreed to go, but argued that the weekend was his grandfather's birthday and he wanted to spend it with him, that they return on Monday, and the subjects agreed; although he was scared, he didn’t mention anything to his family and on October 2 came the call that ordered him to leave the house and get in the car.

He sought to get done with the matter. He tried to get out: " Buddy, I'm already looking at a job that pays better, I’d rather leave you guys in peace," but the answer he received forced him to get in the car without saying anything to anyone: "Look, here bastard, we’re from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and we’re not fucking around , you’re going to a hitmen' school, so get on, if not, I'm going to go back and I'm going to take you by force and I'm going to kill your whole family."

They took him along with another young man to the bus station, bought them tickets to Puerto Vallarta, told them they were being watched, were advised to announce once they arrived to tell them what to do next, and that’s exactly what happened. 

At night, in Puerto Vallarta, they were ordered to communicate with another number and the person who answered told them that he was already waiting for them, to go out into the street and get on the Jeep that was outside.

They were transferred to a farm in the Lisbon neighborhood, where there are few houses around, there they were received by a man who took their phones and told them the rules: "Do not steal, do not fight, do not get high and do not enter the closed rooms, for their safety they could leave the house"; they gave them dinner and ordered them to sleep on the floor.

According to Antonio, the next day another 17 people arrived, including ex-policemen, addicts and thieves; that same day, in Guadalajara, his mother reported his disappearance.

"As soon as they gathered 30 individuals together they were sent to the hills"

Hugo, Hernán and Héctor are originally from Manzanillo, Colima, and on Facebook they saw an ad with an offer for loaders in Puerto Vallarta. They called and a man offered them 4,000 pesos a week, lodging and food included, they had to get to Puerto Vallarta on their own.

They arrived in the early morning of October 7 and were taken to the estate of the Lisbon neighborhood.

Hector asked the manager of the house about the work: "He told us that we were going to be there until 30 people were gathered to receive militarized training in self-defense and use of weapons to work as gunmen for a cartel, he told us not to ask questions ... that the only way out was with our feet upward, dead."

He said that since then, the three spent hours thinking about how to escape.

The rescue

Before Antonio's disappearance, an informant from the Jalisco prosecutor's office had provided data on how the CJNG was recruiting people to train them and gave three possible locations in Puerto Vallarta; it had been just a few months since the operations with which the state prosecutor's office dismantled several training camps in the mountainous area of the municipality of Tala, where they also rescued people recruited by force.

At 2:15 p.m. on October 10, agents from the prosecution’s office arrived at the estate of the Lisbon gated community. They knocked on the door and one of the housekeepers opened, asked for Antonio, said they had information that he could be there; one of the agents noticed that there were several men inside and asked what was happening and the subject at the door said that everyone had met on Facebook and had agreed to rent the house and spend a few days on the beach.

When Hugo, Hernán and Héctor saw the police, they made the decision to escape, approached the door and ran out to ask for help; the officers intervened and arrested 19 people and released the three, Antonio and two other young men who said they were there by force.

Of the 19 detainees, 14 were subjected to an abbreviated trial and were sentenced to four years in prison that will be served this coming October. There is no information regarding the rest of the victims. 

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