12 Year Old Hit man In Mexico : Paid 3,000 A Head

Mexican authorities are on the trail of what is rumored to be a 12 year old boy preforming murders for the South Pacific drug cartel. The boy being called “El Ponchis,” is just one of many youths being recruited for the drug wars in Mexico in recent months.

From MSNBC: The young hit man is said to be paid around $3,000 per hit. Many children have been used for crimes ranging from shoplifting all the way up to this boy's charge, murder. “These minors are still not fully developed and so it is easy to influence them, to give them a gun, pretending it is plastic, that it is a game.” Said Pedro Luis Benitez, Morelos State Prosecutor. A teenage boy and a pregnant teenage girl were arrested by soldiers, also believed to be working for the South Pacific cartel were arrested this week. In a town ruled by the gangs, what other option do many of these children have?

The war on drugs waged by Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, has been a long and bloody battle. Over 31,000 people have been killed since the beginning of this crackdown. Now even children are being brought in by the cartels in an effort to keep the government and its military on its toes. Will these drug lords stop at nothing to keep the money flowing in?

In an interview on Friday, Calderon admit that Mexico is suffering, but has no plans of giving in to the cartels. Unfortunately the cartels are showing no signs of giving up their nearly $40 billion drug market. Let us hope that some progress will be made soon and we can put this bloody mess behind us.