Officials from the Texas Department of Public Safety have announced that multiple Mexican drug cartels are currently using young Texans as part of their smuggling operations, calling them "the expendables." The development is, for obvious reasons, concerning to law enforcement officials, who have obtained evidence that six Mexican drug gangs are actively recruiting Texas children. There may be others.

The battle against Mexican drug cartels is ongoing, and Texas officials released a report last month pointing out the trend among Mexican gangs of creating what has been called a "sanitary zone" on U.S. soil immediately across the border. Landowners in those areas have faced ongoing intimidation from gangs, who are attempting to set up shop permanently on their land for activities related to drug smuggling.

The gangs are apparently attracting young people by offering them money for doing simple tasks, such as moving a vehicle in order to see whether law enforcement has the vehicle under surveillance. Authorities say that once young people do this kind of business with the gangs, they get tangled up in their other activities.

Young children are sought by the cartels since they are less likely to be suspected than adults, and trusting enough to accept small sums of money for performing menial tasks. They also face easier penalties if they are caught.

According to Steven McCraw, director of the Department of Public Safety, 25 minors have been arrested in one of the Texas border counties alone over the past year for involvement in the cartels. The young people often act as runners bringing drugs across the border, acting as lookouts, or performing other simple tasks.

Texas authorities are teaming up with federal officials in a program called "Operation Detour," which seeks to educate children and their parents about the dangers of becoming involved in the cartel activity.

Source: Reuters, "Mexican drug cartels recruiting Texas children," Jim Forsyth, October 17, 2011.