DRUG CARTELS IN MEXICO HIRING FOREIGN MERCENARIES

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Interesting story about a deadly new chapter that has opened
in Mexico's cartel wars Colombian mercenaries. This is where we're
going to be looking at the presidents. This came from
an article in the La Times and I'm just summarizing it.
You can get the full story on the La Times
if you subscribed. The presidence of these foreign fighters was
underscored last week when Mexican authorities arrested eleven Colombians and

(00:21):
the embattled state of Michua Khan. The men were all
ex soldiers and were allegedly involved in a roadside bomb
attack that killed eight members of Mexico's National Guard. The
Colombian president confirmed that a cartel known as Los Rees
had hired the men to fight the Mexican government. The
arrests highlight both the intensifying violence in Mexico and the
global demand for Colombian ex combatants. Will find out why.

(00:46):
One of the reasons is that these fighters are attractive
hires do their elite training and real combat experience. They
also have good experience with IED's Elizabeth Dickinson of the
International Crisis Group called an ideal recruit, noting that they're
often paid a fraction of what American or European security
contractors command. However, there's another side of this story. Many

(01:08):
of the Colombians say they were deceived. A former Colombian
soldier believed he was joining the French Foreign Legion for
three thousand dollars a month. Instead, he and nine others
were taken to a cartel camp in Jalisco, stripped of
their passports, and forced to participate in torture and killings
under threat of death. Another Colombian claimed he was promised
a security job but instead was forced to train dozens

(01:30):
of teenage cartel recruits against their will. Mexicans and authorities
have known for years the cartels are employing foreign fighters.
In twenty twenty one, there was a leaked military report
identifying Colombian mercenaries working for leaders like Albuelo, whose Gangamitra
Khan was recently designated as a terrorist organization. According to

(01:52):
a former DA official, Columbian mercenaries played dual roles as
enforcers and instructors or experts with IEDs and are training
young Sakaria. The Mexican president confirmed ongoing discussions with Colombia
about curbing the flow of mercenaries. Meanwhile, the Columbian president
is pushing for legislation to align Columbia with the UN's

(02:12):
anti Mercenary Convention. They move, some veterans say, and fairly
targets them. So interesting how they're recruiting. Whether the Colombians
were tricked or not, we'll have to be decided later on.
Maybe we'll get some clarity on that, maybe somewhere, maybe somewhere,
just depends on the cartels. I guess they were hiring them.