How Mexican Cartels Lure Colombian Soldiers to Work for Them

Mexican cartels are actively recruiting Colombian soldiers. Through deception, fake announcements, and promises of high-paying jobs, cartels are launching recruitment campaigns to lure former Colombian military personnel and guerrilla fighters to work for them in Mexico. The growing phenomenon has affected dozens of Colombians, with some of them being recently interviewed by the Mexican newspaper El Universal after a terrifying experience with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

Mexican cartels lure Colombians to fight for them

“It was a deceptive job, where they brought me in with lies. They never told me at any point that it was to work for a cartel. They told me it was to do some accounting work and I ended up involved with the Viagras and Jalisco New Generation cartels,” says Andrés, 36-year-old Colombian ex-military with combat experience against the FARC.

Andrés, who also fought for the Ukrainian military against Russia, claims that one of his fellow Colombians, also present in Ukraine, gave him the contact of another Colombian in Mexico, known as ‘El Rojo’. Initially, this connection offered him a job as an accountant, assuring him that no experience was needed and promising a high salary of 10,000 Mexican pesos a week (almost $500).

However, the job turned out to be a position as an armed gunman for the cartels, specifically the Viagras and their allies, the CJNG, one of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world. From that point on, there was no turning back, as deserters are killed, if not tortured and mutilated beforehand.

Andrés eventually managed to escape after a lost confrontation with local peasant self-defense forces, to whom he surrendered his weapons.

Andrés is just one of many Colombians who have joined the ranks of the Mexican cartel through deception. Four other Colombians gave similar accounts to El Universal. Promised a high salary of 10 million Colombian pesos per month (over $2,200), housing, and food, to supposedly protect a Mexican military base, young Colombians were lured to Tuxpan, Jalisco, to protect the interests of the CJNG.

“They gave us a vest that said Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Then they took us to the hitmen‘s house, with a pool, and there they forced us to have relations with sex workers, gave us weapons, and took us to the mountain to fight,” relates Smith, a 27-year-old Colombian soldier from Huila department.

According to him and his companions in misfortune, cartels are using social media with fake job offers to lure Colombians into Mexico and the drug cartel realms. Once in Mexico, the fighters become playthings in the hands of criminals, with threats of death and the absence of the promised payment. In exchange, the fighters must do the cartel’s dirty work, from escorting drug convoys to terrorizing locals as hitmen.

Colombians: highly-sought after in the gunman market

In the mercenary and hitman markets, Colombians are particularly sought after. Indeed, the Colombian military is one of the few in the world with real combat experience, gained over decades of fighting against guerrillas and paramilitary groups. Due to their experience, but also their low pay, Colombians are prime recruits for clients seeking soldiers, whether it be countries like Ukraine or the United Arab Emirates, or criminal organizations like the CJNG.

According to El Universal, Mexican cartels are actively seeking Colombian soldiers, but also former guerrilla members, notably those demobilized from the FARC. Colombians reportedly have expertise in crafting explosives that can be used as mines or for kamikaze drones.

According to Mexican authorities, Mexican cartels have established clandestine explosive factories and training centers in the Tierra Caliente region between the states of Michoacán and Jalisco. One of them was operated by Elkin Pérez Loaiza, alias El Tigre, a Colombian from Villavicencio, Meta, reportedly affiliated with the Viagras cartel.

In his testimony, Andrés reported, for example, that his unit of 25 men was composed of about a dozen Colombians. The strong presence of Colombian fighters is corroborated by the account of Luis Miguel, a former Colombian military man, who claims that at least 80 Colombian soldiers were present in Tuxpan during his time there.

David, one of the Colombians brought to Tuxpan, claims that the CJNG is seeking to form a small army of 300 Colombians to wage its wars in the states of Jalisco and Michoacán. “They are recruiting military personnel and FARC guerrillas who are in the Colombian peace process, which is a danger to Mexico’s national security,” he asserts.

According to their testimonies, local police, often owned or threatened by cartels, are reportedly well aware of these operations, and on various occasions have even provided them with transportation and weapons.

A rising phenomenon

Mexican cartels and Colombian criminal groups have strengthened their ties in recent years. According to the Colombian police and Ombudsman Office, the major Mexican cartels, Sinaloa and CJNG, are working directly with groups such as the ELN guerrilla or former FARC dissidents to ensure their cocaine shipment supplies.

These ties are formed, in particular, through the recruitment of Colombian criminals who are now affiliated with the cartels. The most notorious case is that of Carlos Andrés Rivera Varela, a 38-year-old man from Cali, known as “La Firma” in the underworld. According to US authorities, La Firma is today one of the most powerful men within the CJNG and one of the main lieutenants of its leader and founder, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho.” He is reportedly the strongman in Puerto Vallarta, a tourist and money laundering hub for the CJNG on the Mexican Pacific Coast.

On the other hand, while the phenomenon of mercenarism has been ongoing for years, little has been done by authorities to address it. Recently, Colombian Minister of Defense Ivan Velasquez submitted a bill to Congress to enable the prosecution of mercenaries and their recruiters.

While still under congressional consideration, a bill has emerged with broad support aimed at improving the conditions of Colombia’s former soldiers and preventing their involvement in mercenary activities.

Recognizing the risk of veterans joining illegal groups, the bill seeks to address this by criminalizing mercenarism, prohibiting related training, and implementing comprehensive post-military reintegration programs to support veterans’ transition to civilian life and deter them from seeking employment with criminal organizations.