Wife identifies missing husband's shirt and purse at a cartel recruiting ranch in Mexico: “A lot of pain, a lot of sadness”

When Rubi Cruz Suspicious Mexican Drug Cartel Training Campshe fears the worst-case scenario – he has become a victim of forced recruitment.

Discover Bones, shoes and clothes On a ranch in the western Jalisco state, in a country with 120,000 people missing, the ruthless tactics of violent criminal groups have attracted attention.

Cruz's husband, Fermin Hernandez, then 33, Izaguirre Ranch The gunman fires the shot and opens the leg.

She discovered what she thought was his personal belongings, including a wallet and a T-shirt, an image released by a civil society group to search for the remains of missing persons website last month.

The 31-year-old restaurant worker told AFP that her husband’s image and “your wife is looking for you” said: “I feel a lot of pain and a lot of sadness.”

According to the government Jalisco's new generation cartel, One of the drug trafficking teams Specified President Trump's terrorist organization, Temptation of new recruits With fake job advertisements.

Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said last month that they received guns and other training at Izaguirre Ranch.

“They even took the lives of people who resisted training or tried to escape,” he said.

“I will take care of you from heaven”

Missing in Mexico has soared since the government announced a war against drug trafficking groups in 2006.

Since then, about 480,000 people have been murdered for violence.

Veronica Cruz has nothing to do with Rubi Cruz – worried that her son, Robert Reyes, was also a victim of forced recruitment by the drug cartel.

The teenager disappeared a year ago when he headed to Jalisco and was lured by a proposal to paint a house for work.

Veronica Cruz, 42, believes her son is also at Izaguirre Ranch because he once sent a message from the area.

She had tried to keep him away from nearby gangs and drugs, but she said she never thought her son would be forced to join the cartel.

At the age of 16, a high school dropout arrived in Jalisco from his home in a suburb near Mexico City a year ago, making money to buy a motorcycle and disobeying his mother.

A few weeks later, he called his sister to cry.

He said, “I am the killer. My friend was just killed… If I don't leave here, I will see you from heaven.”

Later, a man said he was Robert's friend and wrote to his sister via social media, telling her that he died in a gunfight.

“I thought the killer wanted to do the job. I never thought the cartel would take people away,” his mother said.

120,000 people disappeared in Mexico

The government said dozens of social media pages have been removed that have recruited criminal groups.

But on the video sharing app Tiktok, Jalisco is still working on “dine and accommodation” that includes the nickname of Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Cartel by Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantesthe U.S. government gave him a $15 million reward to obtain information that led to his arrest.

Jalisco State University accounts for 12% of Mexico’s approximately 127,000 missing people, mainly young people.

Jorge Ramirez, a researcher at the University of Guadalajara, said many of the disappearances were linked to forced recruitment because gangs needed troops to control their territory and generate illegal income.

He said the victims were usually poor young people and had no education.

It is reported that in 2024, about 30 young people disappeared after attending a job interview that they believe will be Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco.

Despite her concerns, Rubi Cruz still hopes to find her husband.

Veronica Cruz's optimism faded, but she still wanted the answer.

“Maybe I'm not looking for justice, but I want to know where my son is – whatever it takes.”

Several mass graves have been discovered in Mexico in recent months. At least in January 56 corpses were found In the unmarked mass graves of northern Mexico, not far from the U.S. border.

one Popular graves Dozens of dismembered body parts contained the remains of 24 people were found in the suburbs of Guadalajara in December 2024. In the same month, Mexican authorities said they took back the 31 corpse From Chipas, a country plagued by cartel violence.

A collective search for missing persons It says drug trafficking cartels and other organized criminal gangs sometimes use ovens to incinerate their victims without leaving any trace.