A 14-year-old boy nicknamed “El Chapito” has been arrested over the killing of eight people at a birthday party nearMexico City.
The incident happened when a group of armed men on motorcycles rode up to the party in the Fundidores neighborhood of Chimalhuacán on January 22.
El Chapito — whose nickname appears to be a reference to the infamousMexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman— and another gang member known as “El Ñoño” then opened fire on the celebration and fled, according to a statement fromMexico’s Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection.
Three adults died at the scene of the shooting and another five people died while receiving medical care at local hospitals, authorities said. A further seven more people were wounded, including a child under 3 and a child under 14, they added.
Alamy Stock Photo
El Ñoño and El Chapito were arrested for the multiple murders this week and a total of nine gang members have been charged for their involvement in the deadly shooting. Investigators tracked down the alleged hitmen after arresting their gang leader, 28-year-old “El Lenguas”, on Feb. 25.
El Chapito — whose real name has not been released — has been transferred to a Specialized Control Judge in the Comprehensive Criminal Justice System for Adolescents, authorities said. The other accused gang members were taken to the Neza-Bordo Penitentiary and Social Reintegration Center.
ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP via Getty Images
Drug-related crimes have plagued Mexico in recent years, and El Chapo’s demise has been a factor in the violence.
The formerleader of the Sinaloa Cartelwas extradited to the U.S. in 2017 after escaping from jail twice in Mexico. He is currentlyserving a life sentenceafter being found guilty of drug trafficking and money laundering in 2019.
The Council on Foreign Relations saidEl Chapo’s extradition created a “power vacuum"in Mexico which has since caused rival factions to attempt to gain new territory.
Eduardo Verdugo/AP
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Cartels and drug gangs in Mexicohave long been known to use children to carry out their violent crimes.
source: people.com
