Believe it… or not?

The story of Alfredo N. … a 17 year old student, claiming he was abducted, taken to a secret camp in the mountains of Guerrero to “recruited” as a cartel hit-man... sounds like something out of a bad movie, although…

lanation.com.ar

… gangsters have been known to kidnap people for a disposable labor force before, and forced levies are not unknown in Mexican history, although normally, it has been the government or political insurgents who resort to it.  Comparing gangsters to a FARC (the photo accompanying the story is from a story published in the Argentinian newpaper La Nacion back in September 2018, about FARC), just gives support to those who would prefer the Mexican gangsters be seen as “terrorists”, and not… as they should be… just as another mafia.  I expect Alfredo’s story will be appearing soon in the less reputable reaches of the English language media… The Daily Mail, Breitbart, etc.  Stay tuned.

However, if the story is true, in a way it gives hope that some missing and disappeared young people may yet be found alive (Alfredo claims to have seen groups like his, of 10 to 30 young adults in several camps, or rather, abandoned villages), And, if true, it might mean that the new government strategy of going after the gangsters’ financial resources is working, and the gangsters are unable to provide the incentives they once did to willing recruits, and have to rely on untrained, reluctant “draftees”.