Children join a self-defense militia in Mexico

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They recruit children in community police in Guerrero 3:20

(CNN) - In a remote and mountainous region of the state of Guerrero in Mexico, a group of uniformed youths lined up on a basketball court. "Attention! Raise your weapons now, ”his coach shouted as the children rushed into position, with firm hands holding their rifles. The little ones train with sticks and the faces covered with colored scarves.

Children, ages 6 to 12, are being trained to protect their community against criminal groups, in a lawless territory where residents say no one is safe.

The state of Guerrero registered 1,891 ** intentional homicides in 2019. It was the deadliest year for Mexico as a whole since the records began, with a staggering 35,588 ** murders, according to the National Secretariat of Public Security.

While the government of the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, struggles to solve a complex social crisis fueled by territorial wars between drug cartels, locals in a town in Guerrero say they have no choice but to defend themselves and teach their children To do the same.

Since 2014, the indigenous people have assembled their own local volunteer police group, known as CRAC-PC (short for Regional Coordination of Community Authorities - Community Police), led by Bernardino Sánchez Luna. The group has about 200 members and began recruiting minors about eight months ago. The youth training began in earnest two months ago.

“I don't want to carry this weapon, I don't want to, but criminals have also forced us. We have to defend our people, ”José, a member of CRAC-PC, told CNN in Spanish. Fear of the armed group that runs the region, Los Ardillos, led them to take up arms to protect themselves, he adds.

José and his wife Elvia have two children, aged 14 and 17, who voluntarily joined CRAC-PC, he says.

But young recruits have few other options.

The community lacks social services such as education and health, residents and children told CNN in Spanish. Primary school teachers sometimes do not show up to class, and it is too risky to send children to higher education institutions in other towns and cities, because traveling is very dangerous while criminal groups roam, sometimes even establishing checkpoints.

"I'd rather they have a notebook and a pen, but the need forces us," says Elvia.

"If there were an opportunity for them to study, to be something in life, that would be what we want most, but seeing that the Government does nothing to offer security in our territories, now we stand up to defend our community," José said, behind a green handkerchief that covered his face.

Younger children who are being trained by CRAC-PC are 6 years old. When they are between 12 and 15 years old, they will be old enough to “take shelter of their community,” according to Sánchez Luna, the group leader.

A recruit, Diego, 12, speaks softly behind his handkerchief. He loves basketball and used to go to school, but the teachers stopped coming. “Maybe they are scared. Who knows why they don't come, ”he said.

When asked if you understand the risks of being armed, nod. "If I carry a gun, it can be loaded and could hurt someone."

Unkept promises

President López Obrador campaigned with the promise of ending corruption and violence by alleviating the poverty that drives gang membership, which he called a “hugs, not bullets” strategy, but so far he has not managed to stop the spill of blood.

“Now there is a new strategy. It is no longer to face violence with violence, to face evil with evil, ”López Obrador said last week during his daily press conference in the morning, insisting that his strategy will show results, after being questioned about recruited children Like Diego

"We are addressing the causes, we have to face violence, and we have to give children, young people, the options to get them away from weapons and violence, and that is what we are doing everywhere," Lopez said. Obrador

LEE : It's official: 2019 has been the most violent year in Mexico

But at least in the state of Guerrero, continued instability continues to push some children toward weapons. Eduardo, 15, tells CNN that he misses school, his friends, his teachers and that he would rather return to his old life. But "we have to protect our community because at any moment, criminals can enter," he says under a bright red scarf.

Although he is not paid, volunteering can be a full-time job: Eduardo said his day starts at 7 am and ends at 6 pm

"We need education, that the children return to school," Guerrero Governor Héctor Astudillo Flores said on Friday during a visit to the community, where he sat down with government officials and local residents.

“There is a great anger that is understandable, and it is our obligation to take care of our children,” said Astudillo Flores when asked why parents train their children to take up arms. "I understand that [parents] are upset, of course I understand."

So far, none of the volunteer police officers in this city, young or old, have faced any criminal groups yet, although they cite clashes in a nearby city as a reason to prepare. And some observers suggest that the greatest impact of arming children may be on the same Government of Mexico.

"The recruitment announcements of children in the CRACs are a desperate act to get the attention of the Mexican State," said the Network of the Rights of the Children of Mexico (REDIM) after the news last week of the young recruits.

The only real solution in Guerrero and elsewhere, he said, is that the López Obrador administration "articulate a national strategy to stop armed violence."

Editor's Notes:

The exact location of the children was not revealed for their safety. Names have been changed to protect identities.

** The Mexican government counts homicides and intentional feminicides in separate categories, but both are counted in the total number of murders recorded.

Natalie Gallón of CNN wrote and reported from Mexico City. Fidel Gutiérrez of CNNE in Mexico City and journalist Bertha Ramos in Guerrero contributed to this report.