Latino VoicesLatino VoicesLatino Voices

Jose Armando Moreno, 13 Year-Old Mexican Cartel Hitman, Found Murdered, Tortured

13 Year-Old Cartel Hitman Found Murdered, Tortured
Open Image Modal
By 

Reporter, HuffPost

Open Image Modal
gun in woman jeans pocket ...

The body of a 13 year-old boy who had confessed to working for the Zetas Mexican drug cartel as a hired assassin was found alongside six others in the municipality of Morelos Thursday, CNN reports.

Authorities in the Mexican state of Zacatecas confirmed that Jose Armando Moreno, four women, and one other male were found murdered execution-style on the side of a highway in the municipality of Morelos. The bodies showed signs of torture and it is believed the boy’s mother is among the victims.

According to Univision, Moreno was arrested on Feb. 3 by the Federal Police. At the time, the boy admitted he’d been involved in at least 10 homicides, three of which he personally executed.

"After being detained, he confessed to authorities that he had participated in at least 10 homicides and that he was somebody who was good at shooting with a high-caliber weapon," Arturo Nahle Garcia, state’s prosecutor in Zacatecas, told CNN.

The boy was released in accordance to Mexican law which prohibits individuals under the age of 14 from being incarcerated or placed in correctional facilities. A similar case was brought to a Mexican judge’s attention in 2011; 14 year-old U.S.-born hitman Edgar Jiménez (“El Ponchis”) was sentenced to three years in jail after confessing to killing four people whose bodies were found beheaded and hanging from a bridge.

"I participated in four executions, but I did it drugged and under threat that if I didn't, they would kill me," Jiménez told reporters after his arrest in 2010, according to Reuters.

While official statistics are lacking, in 2010 BBC Mundo reported that civil organizations estimate approximately 25,000 children and teenagers had been linked to cartel criminal activity -- includi from theft to homicide.

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.

Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.

to keep our news free for all.

Support HuffPost

Before You Go

Mexico's Drug Cartels
Los Zetas(01 of08)
Open Image Modal
The Zetas are thought to have become the largest cartel in Mexico recently, operating in over half the country's states.Leader: The notoriously brutal gangster Miguel Angel Trevino Morales (alias "Z-40") is believed to be the new leader of the Zetas drug cartel following a showdown with Heriberto "El Lazca" Lazcano. Trevino is infamous for human "cookouts" in which he stuffs people in oil drums and lights them on fire."If you get called to a meeting with him, you're not going to come out of that meeting," a U.S. official said of Trevino.Territory: The Zetas control a swath of territory on Mexico's east coast extending along the Gulf of Mexico.Rivals: The Zetas are bitter rivals with the Sinaloa Cartel. In turn, the group is allied with the Beltran Leyva Cartel and the Tijuana Cartel.Notable incidents: In August 2011, gunmen stormed the Casino Royale in Monterrey and lit it on fire, killing dozens.In February 2012, 30 prisoners linked to the Zetas broke free from Apodaca jail during a riot. 44 inmates from the rival Gulf Cartel were killed.In May 2012, the Zetas cartel allegedly was involved in dumping 49 decapitated bodies on a busy highway near Monterrey.Photo: Army soldiers flank Daniel Ramirez, alias "El Loco," during his presentation to the media in Mexico City, Monday, May 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini) (credit:AP)
Sinaloa Cartel(02 of08)
Open Image Modal
Mexico's second major cartel reportedly operates in over a dozen countries, including trafficking cocaine and other drugs to the United States.Leader: Mexico's most-wanted drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, remains at large after he escaped from prison by hiding in a laundry truck in 2001. In 2012, Guzman appeared on Forbes' list of billionaires for the fourth year in a row.Territory: The Sinaloa Cartel operates in northwestern Mexico (map).Rivals: Arch-nemesis of Los Zetas, the Sinaloa cartel is allied with the Gulf cartel and the Familia Michoacana.Notable Incidents: A 755-foot smuggling tunnel running under a U.S. border fence was suspected to be operated by the Sinaloa cartel.The Sinaloa cartel may have been responsible for massacres in the border city of Nuevo Laredo in May 2012. The bodies of 23 people were found decapitated or hanging from a bridge, followed hours later by the discovery of 14 human heads in coolers near city hall.Photo: In this June 10, 1993, file photo, Joaquin Guzman Loera, alias "El Chapo" Guzman, is shown to the press after his arrest at the high security prison of Almoloya de Juarez on the outskirts of Mexico City. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) (credit:AP)
Gulf Cartel(03 of08)
Open Image Modal
One of the oldest cartels, the Gulf Cartel recently has lost influence, but is backed up by the Sinaloa cartel.Leader: Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sanchez, alias "El Coss." The U.S. has a $5 million bounty on his head. Costilla Sanchez once allegedly held FBI and DEA agents at gunpoint with AK-47s and threatened to kill them.Territory: The cartel operates out of the state of Tamaulipas, with other bases in Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Reynosa, according to InsightCrime.Rivals: The Gulf Cartel is allied with Sinaloa and enemies of Los Zetas.Notable Incident: In June, footage purporting to show masked members of the Gulf Cartel beheading Zetas members surfaced online.Photo: From left: Andrea Escamilla Juarez ("La Negra," 21), Rene Cortez Zapata ("El Nicanor," 45), Nestor Hugo Del Angel Ferretis ("El Tango," 29), Jose De Jesus Mosqueda Mora ("El Chucho," 41), Jorge Fernando Larios Nossiff ("El Camaron", 57), and Ricardo Abraham Velazquez Del Castillo ("El Ricardillo, 24), all alleged members of a cell belonging to the Gulf Cartel criminal organization, are shown to the press by federal police in Mexico City, Friday, Dec. 9, 2011. (AP Photo/German Garcia) (credit:AP)
Juarez Cartel(04 of08)
Open Image Modal
The Juarez Cartel reportedly smuggles tons of narcotics into the U.S., using local gangs to act as enforcers.Leader: Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, aka "The Viceroy," has a $5 million bounty on his head from the U.S. government.Territory: Based in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas.Notable incidents: In July 2011, Antonio Acosta Hernandez ("El Diego") told police he had ordered the killings of 1,500 people.In 2010, a report suggested that an associate group of the Juarez Cartel was training beautiful, young women as assassins.Rivals: Sinaloa cartel.Photo: Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez, 33, is presented to the media by federal police officers in Mexico City, Sunday July 31, 2011. According to federal officials, Acosta, nicknamed "El Diego," is a key drug cartel figure, who acknowledged ordering 1,500 killings. Authorities identified Acosta as head of La Linea, a gang of hit men and corrupt police officers who act as enforcers for the Juarez Cartel. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte) (credit:AP)
Tijuana Cartel(05 of08)
Open Image Modal
The Tijuana Cartel, aka the Arellano Felix Organization, operates in the strategically important town of Tijuana, bordering San Diego, California. The cartel was depicted in the film 'Traffic' (2000). The cartel has been weakened by infighting.Leader: Fernando Sanchez Arellano, alias "El Ingeniero." (The "Engineer.")Territory: Baja CaliforniaNotable Incident: The cartel allegedly dissolved bodies using chemicals or burned them in the desert to cover their tracks.Photo: Seized drugs and packages of marijuana and crystal meth are displayed during a presentation to the press in Tijuana, Mexico, Wednesday, March 24, 2010. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias) (credit:AP)
Knights Templar(06 of08)
Open Image Modal
The Knights Templar are a bizarre, cult-like group. The Guardian writes: "Propaganda from the Knights Templar blends a mix of Michoacan regionalism, Christianity and revolutionary slogans." The Knights Templar are a major trafficker of methamphetamine.Leader: Servando Gómez Martínez, alias "La Tuta," denied in a filmed address that the Knights Templar are a cartel. Gómez Martínez is also called "El Profe" ("The Professor"), and InSight reports that Gómez Martínez was still a publicly-employed teacher as of 2010.Notable Incident: The group recently was blamed for coordinated firebombings of a PepsiCo subsiadary. It was a Mexican drug cartel's first attack on a transnational company.Rivals: Los Zetas.Photo: Juan Gabriel Orozco Favela, alias "El Gasca," an alleged member of the Knights Templar drug cartel, is escorted by Mexican Army soldiers as he is presented to the media in Mexico City, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini) (credit:AP)
Beltran Leyva (Disbanded)(07 of08)
Open Image Modal
The Beltran Leyva largely disbanded following a power struggle after the death of its leader, Arturo Beltrán Leyva.Leader: Héctor Beltrán Leyva, alias "El Ingeniero," or "El H," is wanted for up to $5 million in the U.S. He is the brother of former cartel leader Arturo Beltrán Leyva.Territory: Northern Sinaloa.Rivals: Allied with Los Zetas after splitting from Sinaloa in 2008.Notable incident: Former cartel chief Arturo Beltrán Leyva died in a shootout involving 200 Mexican marines in late 2009.Photo: In this photo released by Mexico's Navy, Navy marines arrest alleged drug kingpin Sergio Villarreal Barragan, alias "El Grande," center, in Puebla, Mexico, Sunday Sept. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Mexican Navy) (credit:AP)
La Familia Michoacana (Extinct)(08 of08)
Open Image Modal
La Familia Michoacana, a pseudo-religious gang, has been largely disbanded.Leader: Nazario Moreno González, alias "El Más Loco" ("The Craziest One"), died in December 2010. Photo: Martin Rosales Magana, aka "El Terry" and alleged leader of the Mexican La Familia drug cartel, is escorted by police officers during his presentation to the media in Mexico City, Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011. Authorities allege Rosales is one of the last major leaders of the La Familia cartel. (AP Photo/Leonardo Casas) (credit:AP)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip