The Associated Press, the American equivalent of our AFP, reveals that three minors from the state of Oaxaca, southern Mexico, were approached by a drug cartel recruiter thanks to Garena Free Fire, making Battle Royale very popular on mobile to the point of Most Downloaded Game of 2019 this medium.
The current Secretary of State for Security for Mexico, Ricardo Mejia, said in a public statement that these boys, aged eleven and fourteen, would be assigned to surveillance duties in the north of the country for a fee $ 200 a week
Line of sight shooting games
Corresponding Ricardo Mejia, the alleged recruiter would have used the appetite of these children for online shooters to offer them a job, “because the guns and they make a lot of money”. That’s a big argument, isn’t it?
The Foreign Minister also added:
In th is case, it was a mobile game, but it could just as easily happen on PlayStation, Xbox, or Nintendo Switch consoles. Anonymous contact over the internet because they can play online and that is what triggers the process of communication, persuasion and recruiting.
Government concern
Knowing that youth recruitment by drug cartels is a big issue in the country (there were no fewer than 30,000 in 2019 alone), we understand the concern of the Mexican government as it urges families to appear face to this phenomenon.
Obviously, video games are just another way for drug traffickers to approach this easily impressionable youth, as is social networking. Hence, some evil spirits are taking advantage of this phenomenon to tap into the media a little more by drawing a dangerous parallel between video games and drugs …
