The use and recruitment of minors by organized crime groups “is a very common practice and we are very worried,” the head of Child Protection of Unicef in Mexico, Rocío Aznar, told EFE this Wednesday, so she urges to look “in particular why adolescents are disappearing” in the North American country.

According to a report by the University of Guadalajara (UdeG), in Jalisco (western Mexico), state where Rancho Izaguirre is located, the alleged training camp of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), people between 15 and 19 years old occupy the first place in disappearances between January and April 2025, with 122 reports, the most likely cause being forced recruitment by organized crime.

In addition, “one of the main causes of death in adolescents in Mexico is homicide,” explains UNICEF’s Child Protection specialist, Juan Rodríguez, which could also have a “link” with criminal groups that recruit and use children and adolescents to fulfill roles ranging from messaging to sicariato.

Therefore, he explains, one of Unicef’s proposals is the criminalization of the crime of recruitment and use for “the protection of children,” but also because “it is in the line of organized crime prevention,” which has co-opted 30,000 minors, according to the Network for the Rights of the Child in Mexico (Redim).

“The (criminal) groups have taken advantage of the conditions or advantages of recruiting children. One, they are cheaper and, two, the imputable penalties are lower than those of an adult,” Rodríguez explains.

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To date, Unicef does not have specific figures on this affectation to childhood at the national level, since, in the no typification, it is difficult to “access the number of victims of recruitment and use.”

However, Aznar clarifies that, despite the lack of figures, this problem exists and “is one of the most serious violations of rights (…) These children and adolescents are exposed to the worst forms of violence, they see them, suffer them and, sometimes, they execute them.”

In that sense, he emphasizes, it is necessary that “the (Mexican) State reacts” and recognizes that “all recruitment and use of a person under the age of 18, who is still in the process of development, is forced.”

Also, because the one who is on trial is not the recruiter, but “the teenager who has committed a crime because they have used him, they have taken advantage of his vulnerability as a minor (…) The focus and responsibility is on the victim,” he says.
Adopt a national policy

In addition, Rodríguez insists, “boys and girls are not only recruited in order to commit a crime, they are also recruited to fulfill other roles, courier or cook. Those roles also expose them to levels of violence or risks that do not necessarily comply with operational activities such as the young hitman, the one who kidnaps.”

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That is why, Aznar adds, “we continue to urge the Mexican State to adopt a policy beyond a specific or conjunctural or temporary program,” which would be the first comprehensive national policy of prevention and attention to recruitment for a country where there are also more than 127,000 unlocated people since there was a record in the 1960s.

Mexican children and youth who face armed violence “deserve the opportunity to be able to heal, to rebuild their lives and if they have done damage to be able to repair it in a constructive way,” he concludes.

In response, President Claudia Sheinbaum has offered to develop “all the necessary schemes” to attend to youth in Jalisco, after the UdeG report warned about the forced recruitment of young people in that Mexican state.

The 90-day tariff truce between the United States and China barely represents a respite for the port of Los Angeles, the most active in North America and the most affected by an unprecedented trade war from which it will be difficult to recover.

The impact of the taxes on the Asian country disarmed activity in the largest port in the United States with a collapse of 32% and 35% in ship traffic in the last two weeks, a heavy blow to one of the main engines of the state of California, which had not experienced a similar crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although on paper the temporary agreement between Trump and China, which comes into force this Wednesday, is favorable for trade between both sides, its wound leaves open a deep hole in the ports of the west coast that is difficult to stop.

Last Friday morning, no cargo ship had left China with goods to the two main ports on the west coast in the last 12 hours, according to port officials told CNN, an unprecedented scene in the last five years.

Nor were there the 41 ships that were planned to leave China for San Pedro Bay, which includes the piers of Los Angeles and Long Beach in California.

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The latter stands out for being one of the key pillars in the economic vitality of the United States, since the port of Long Beach generates 2.7 million jobs worldwide, including more than 1.1 million in California, according to the website.

To the sharp drop in port activity is added the uncertainty in the rise in prices of items from China and the impact to absorb the economic and employment losses generated by ships that never reached their final destination in the midst of the tariff war.

Shipments from China represent about 45% of the business of the port of Los Angeles, which over the years has been increasing its commercial cargo: last year it received 10.3 million containers, a record 1.7 million TEU (maritime cargo unit, equivalent to a 20-foot container), almost 20% more than in 2023.

The truce does not convince the maritime transport sectors, restless about another uncertain panorama that pushes them to drift, without a plan to correct the impact of the decrease in imports in the busiest ports of the United States.

“The reduction of taxes between the US and China is good news for consumers, the US business, workers and the supply chain. To avoid further uncertainty and disruption of trade, both parties must work together quickly towards a long-term agreement,” said Gene Seroka, executive director of the port of Los Angeles, in a statement.

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The representative of the port activity of Los Angeles has presented himself in the last month as an iron whistleblower of the serious consequences of the tariffs imposed on China.

The United States has been imposing tariffs on China since April 2 and incurred a reprisal that reached 145% in the midst of the trade war. The Asian country responded with the same currency and applied taxes of 125% on US imports.

After last Sunday’s meeting between Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, the powers consolidated a 30% tariff for China and 10% for the United States for a period of three months in which they hope to agree on a framework that favors both parties.

The National Federation of Retailers also applauded this temporary agreement, “which allows a significant de-escalation of the current trade relationship,” its executive director, Matthew Shay, said in a letter.

But they are not satisfied with these reforms: “We urge the Administration and our Chinese trading partners to continue talks to address current problems, work to eliminate the remaining tariffs for national security reasons and ensure long-term stability between the world’s two largest economies,” he said.

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“If the situation does not change quickly, I mean the uncertainty we are experiencing, we could see empty products on the shelves. The consumer will notice it in the next 30 days,” said the executive director of the Port of Long Beach, Mario Cordero, according to CNN.

Iran denied this Friday that it had received a firm proposal from the United States to close a nuclear agreement, as stated by US President Donald Trump.

“Iran has not received any written proposal from the United States, either directly or indirectly,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in X.

The head of Iranian diplomacy once again insisted that his country will not give up its right to maintain a nuclear program for peaceful purposes.

“Remember my words: there is no scenario in which Iran abandons its right to enrichment for peaceful purposes, which it has worked so hard to achieve: a right that is also granted to all other signatories of the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty), he said.

At the same time, he reiterated that the United States sends confusing and contradictory messages, before which Tehran will stand firm.

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“Respect our rights and end your sanctions, and we will have an agreement,” he said.

Trump assured today that Iran already has a firm proposal from Washington on the table for the negotiations they keep aimed at achieving a nuclear agreement, but in case of not “acting quickly, something bad will happen.”

“Yes, they have a proposal. And most importantly, they know they have to act fast. Something bad is going to happen,” he told journalists inside the Air Force One as he took off in the direction of Washington after finishing his four-day tour of the Middle East

Yesterday in Doha, Trump said that he is “approaching” a pact with Iran, by which this country “will not be able to have a nuclear weapon,” which “is the only point, very simple” that the United States requires for an agreement.

Iran and the United States began nuclear talks on April 12, after Trump called on Tehran to negotiate an agreement and threatened a military attack if a pact on its atomic program was not reached.

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Washington and Tehran have held four rounds of nuclear talks, the last one last Sunday in Muscat, Oman, in which they agreed to continue negotiations, although they have not yet announced the date and place of the next meeting.

In the negotiations, Iran seeks to lift economic sanctions and only limit its nuclear capacity, while the United States has also pointed to the Iranian missile program and Tehran’s support for regional groups such as the Houthis in Yemen.

Tehran insists that it will not negotiate its right to enrich uranium, while Washington has mentioned the possibilities of completely dismantling the Iranian atomic program or acquiring enriched uranium from another country.