US EditionMexico’s security chief says drug cartels are recruiting former Colombian soldiers
- On June 11, 2025, Mexico's Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch revealed that Mexican cartels recruited former Colombian soldiers and arrested 12 Colombians in Michoacan linked to a deadly mine attack killing eight soldiers.
- This development follows longstanding ties between Mexican and Colombian criminal groups and recent efforts to block Colombians believed lured by crime networks from entering Mexico.
- Authorities detained nine former Colombian soldiers and three armed civilians, while twenty cartels including Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation are recruiting Colombians known for their combat experience from Colombia’s internal conflicts.
- Mexican immigration officials rejected 69 Colombians recently, and Colombia’s ambassador Fernando García warned arrests might harm ongoing talks to verify entries and reduce such rejections.
- These arrests and recruitment trends highlight growing cartel militarization with foreign veterans, prompting reinforced border control and political negotiations to address regional security challenges.
19 Articles
19 Articles
Mexican Cartels Are Recruiting Former Colombian Soldiers: Mexican Security Chief
The head of Mexico’s Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, said a pattern of organized crime to recruit former Colombian military personnel has been detected in Mexico. Harfuch said on June 10 that on May 29, Mexican Army personnel detained 17 people in the municipality of Los Reyes, Michoacán. Five were Mexicans and 12 were Colombian nationals—nine former soldiers and three civilians with military training in the …
Reforma
eldiariodechihuahua.mxA foreigner, allegedly Colombian, presumed in a video to be shot along with other hit men of the CJNG in Tuzantla, Michoac n.
Mexico's Cartel Crisis: Colombian Soldiers Recruited by Drug Lords
Rising cartel violence in Mexico has led to the recruitment of former Colombian soldiers by Mexican drug cartels. This comes as Mexican authorities have intensified efforts to deny entry to Colombians associated with criminal activities. The collaboration highlights deep connections between drug networks across Colombia and Mexico.
Associated Press News
Mexico's security chief says drug cartels are recruiting former Colombian soldiers
Mexico’s security chief says that the country's most powerful drug cartels are recruiting former Colombian soldiers, leading Mexico to turn away dozens of Colombians trying to enter the country.
Mexico's Secretary of Security, Omar García Harfuch, said on Tuesday that the powerful cartels Jalisco Nueva Generación and Sinaloa are recruiting Colombians to join these organizations and that is why 69 Colombians were prevented from entering the country in recent weeks, some of whom acknowledged that they were captured by these groups. García Harfuch announced this during the morning presidential conference when he referred to the operation c…
The emergence of Colombian ex-combatants - many with experience in armed conflicts and explosive management - in the cartel war in Mexico has set off alarms in various areas of national security and international relations
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