Mexico’s Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said that the country’s most powerful drug cartels are actively recruiting former Colombian soldiers.
His statement comes after the arrest of 12 Colombians in Michoacán last week, following a mine explosion that killed eight Mexican soldiers.
García Harfuch said that nine of the twelve detainees were former soldiers, while the remaining three were civilians with military-style weapons training. During a press conference earlier this week, he added that several detainees admitted to being recruited by drug cartels.
🪖@OHarfuch informó que 12 ciudadanos colombianos fueron detenidos en Michoacán, vinculados con la explosión de una mina que mató a seis militares.
Detalló que contaban con entrenamiento militar y algunos declararon haber sido reclutados por el crimen organizado. pic.twitter.com/Td5jzxtfDF
— Animal Político (@Pajaropolitico) June 10, 2025
In a recent interview with Milenio, Colombia’s consul general in Mexico City, Alfredo Molano Jimeno, disclosed that at least one active Colombian soldier is collaborating with Mexican drug cartels by recruiting former military personnel as mercenaries for groups such as the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels.
“We’ve found that recruitment routes involve active-duty military personnel using fraudulent job offers. We have at least one name of an active member,” Jimeno said. “What’s clear is a pattern of involvement: members of the security forces have participated in recruitment efforts in the same areas where individuals were later abducted.”
Jimeno noted that the soldier uses social media platforms to enlist veterans, offering monthly salaries between $2,500 and $10,000.
Meanwhile, Mexican government sources told Milenio that a separate probe is underway targeting staff at the National Immigration Institute (INM), amid allegations that some employees may have aided the 12 Colombians in entering the country.
Colombian mercenaries have been linked to various global conflicts including the 2021 assassination of Haiti’s president and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In March, the Colombian government announced that discussions with Mexico were advancing to establish systems for verifying information about individuals attempting to enter Mexico.
Earlier, in October 2023, Mexican officials detained eight Colombians in Michoacán state, accusing them of assisting in the production of explosives deployed by cartel-operated drones.
