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| 'I can’t believe how I used to live': from gang war to peace treaties in Monterrey | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Juan Pablo García was six years old when he left home and joined a street gang. Over the next 14 years he sold marijuana for a local kingpin, became the leader of his own gang and developed a heavy cocaine addiction. Like thousands of others who hustle on the dusty streets of Monterrey, Mexico’s third-biggest city, he was the product of a society that has spawned a seemingly endless cycle of violent crime. | Juan Pablo García was six years old when he left home and joined a street gang. Over the next 14 years he sold marijuana for a local kingpin, became the leader of his own gang and developed a heavy cocaine addiction. Like thousands of others who hustle on the dusty streets of Monterrey, Mexico’s third-biggest city, he was the product of a society that has spawned a seemingly endless cycle of violent crime. |
| “I grew up in a very poor neighbourhood. We didn’t even have water or basic services,” García recalls. “After my dad abandoned us I wanted to earn money on the streets to support my mum, but I ended up getting involved with gangs.” | “I grew up in a very poor neighbourhood. We didn’t even have water or basic services,” García recalls. “After my dad abandoned us I wanted to earn money on the streets to support my mum, but I ended up getting involved with gangs.” |
| It was only when he “found God” at the age of 20 that García managed to break the cycle, although it took another three months of homeopathy and abstinence to kick his cocaine habit. Now 42, he is helping others to escape gang life and return to school or find formal employment opportunities. | It was only when he “found God” at the age of 20 that García managed to break the cycle, although it took another three months of homeopathy and abstinence to kick his cocaine habit. Now 42, he is helping others to escape gang life and return to school or find formal employment opportunities. |
| In 2011 García founded the NGO Nacidos Para Triunfar (Born to Triumph; NPT) in a bid to prevent vulnerable youths from joining street gangs and becoming foot soldiers for large predatory drug cartels. “At this time Monterrey was controlled by the cartels,” he says. “There were a lot of kidnappings and carjackings. People didn’t want to leave their homes.” | In 2011 García founded the NGO Nacidos Para Triunfar (Born to Triumph; NPT) in a bid to prevent vulnerable youths from joining street gangs and becoming foot soldiers for large predatory drug cartels. “At this time Monterrey was controlled by the cartels,” he says. “There were a lot of kidnappings and carjackings. People didn’t want to leave their homes.” |
| García has since brokered over a dozen truces between more than 100 street gangs that were once locked in longstanding feuds over territory and respect. Almost 400 former delinquents have graduated from NPT’s educational programme and the aim is to remove 2,000 kids from gangs in the Monterrey area. | García has since brokered over a dozen truces between more than 100 street gangs that were once locked in longstanding feuds over territory and respect. Almost 400 former delinquents have graduated from NPT’s educational programme and the aim is to remove 2,000 kids from gangs in the Monterrey area. |
| Thirteen gangs signed a truce at a gym hall in Monterrey’s San Bernabé neighbourhood in January. A dozen police officers brandishing submachine guns kept watch beneath the broken streetlights outside as 300 adolescents filed in wearing baseball caps, chains and baggy jeans. | Thirteen gangs signed a truce at a gym hall in Monterrey’s San Bernabé neighbourhood in January. A dozen police officers brandishing submachine guns kept watch beneath the broken streetlights outside as 300 adolescents filed in wearing baseball caps, chains and baggy jeans. |
| Each gang leader had to sign the treaty and embrace their rivals but the pact almost broke down when one pair exchanged overly aggressive fist bumps. A tense standoff ensued but García persuaded them to make up. Celebrations followed, with the attendees sharing tacos and soft drinks before skanking together to live vallenato music. | Each gang leader had to sign the treaty and embrace their rivals but the pact almost broke down when one pair exchanged overly aggressive fist bumps. A tense standoff ensued but García persuaded them to make up. Celebrations followed, with the attendees sharing tacos and soft drinks before skanking together to live vallenato music. |
| The safest city is not the one with the most police – it’s the one with the fewest criminals | The safest city is not the one with the most police – it’s the one with the fewest criminals |
| Eduardo, a 16-year-old member of the TFP gang, one of the approximately 2,400 gangs in the city, hopes the truce will bring lasting peace. “We fight over things that aren’t worth it. I’ve seen stabbings and the crazier guys even pull out pistols or machetes,” he says. “It would be great if the gangs stop fighting but these rivalries go back many years. It’s hard to let your guard down but this foundation is really helping us.” | Eduardo, a 16-year-old member of the TFP gang, one of the approximately 2,400 gangs in the city, hopes the truce will bring lasting peace. “We fight over things that aren’t worth it. I’ve seen stabbings and the crazier guys even pull out pistols or machetes,” he says. “It would be great if the gangs stop fighting but these rivalries go back many years. It’s hard to let your guard down but this foundation is really helping us.” |
| Eduardo’s girlfriend, Alexa, joined his gang last year. She was only 11 when she started drinking and smoking marijuana but now hopes for a brighter future. “I’m about to finish high school,” she says shyly. “I’d like to go to university and become a family lawyer.” | Eduardo’s girlfriend, Alexa, joined his gang last year. She was only 11 when she started drinking and smoking marijuana but now hopes for a brighter future. “I’m about to finish high school,” she says shyly. “I’d like to go to university and become a family lawyer.” |
| A city divided | A city divided |
| Flanked by jagged mountains and harsh desert, Monterrey is the capital of the northeastern state of Nuevo León. A major business hub with a population of 4.4 million, the metropolis is home to Mexico’s wealthiest municipality, a plush valley full of shiny tower blocks, malls and nightclubs called San Pedro Garza García. Yet this prosperous bubble contrasts starkly with the surrounding areas; Mexico’s government classes 57.5% of Nuevo León’s inhabitants as poor or vulnerable. | Flanked by jagged mountains and harsh desert, Monterrey is the capital of the northeastern state of Nuevo León. A major business hub with a population of 4.4 million, the metropolis is home to Mexico’s wealthiest municipality, a plush valley full of shiny tower blocks, malls and nightclubs called San Pedro Garza García. Yet this prosperous bubble contrasts starkly with the surrounding areas; Mexico’s government classes 57.5% of Nuevo León’s inhabitants as poor or vulnerable. |
| Monterrey is no longer as violent as it was at the start of the decade, in part due to a series of key arrests weakening the sanguinary Zetas cartel, one of four major drug cartels that operate in the city, and the introduction of a new, more professional police force known as the Fuerza Civil. Still, grim reminders of its underbelly continue to surface. On 22 January, local authorities announced the discovery of 56 bodies in mass graves on the city’s northwestern outskirts. The dead were suspected victims of the Zetas cartel. Many of the youths that NPT supports grew up in the same district. They could easily have ended up as cannon-fodder for the cartel or their rivals in the savage drug war that has claimed some 200,000 lives since 2007. | Monterrey is no longer as violent as it was at the start of the decade, in part due to a series of key arrests weakening the sanguinary Zetas cartel, one of four major drug cartels that operate in the city, and the introduction of a new, more professional police force known as the Fuerza Civil. Still, grim reminders of its underbelly continue to surface. On 22 January, local authorities announced the discovery of 56 bodies in mass graves on the city’s northwestern outskirts. The dead were suspected victims of the Zetas cartel. Many of the youths that NPT supports grew up in the same district. They could easily have ended up as cannon-fodder for the cartel or their rivals in the savage drug war that has claimed some 200,000 lives since 2007. |
| “The cartels represent a major challenge,” García says. “We’re taking away their workforce and their consumers so they often threaten us and try to obstruct our work.” The Gulf, Noreste and Sinaloa cartels which also operate in Monterrey recruit adolescents from street gangs as lookouts, dealers and drivers, he explains. Some are hired to steal cars, commit extortion or carry out kidnappings. Some even become assassins. | “The cartels represent a major challenge,” García says. “We’re taking away their workforce and their consumers so they often threaten us and try to obstruct our work.” The Gulf, Noreste and Sinaloa cartels which also operate in Monterrey recruit adolescents from street gangs as lookouts, dealers and drivers, he explains. Some are hired to steal cars, commit extortion or carry out kidnappings. Some even become assassins. |
| García is convinced that gang culture is a consequence of “broken social fabric”. He has helped gang members as young as nine and as old as 40, but the majority are aged 16 to 19. Most come from dysfunctional families in neglected neighbourhoods. Many begin inhaling solvents because it’s cheaper than food and staves off hunger. Their tattoos, piercings and limited education render them practically unemployable, so they see little alternative to a life of crime. | García is convinced that gang culture is a consequence of “broken social fabric”. He has helped gang members as young as nine and as old as 40, but the majority are aged 16 to 19. Most come from dysfunctional families in neglected neighbourhoods. Many begin inhaling solvents because it’s cheaper than food and staves off hunger. Their tattoos, piercings and limited education render them practically unemployable, so they see little alternative to a life of crime. |
| Now I’ve seen another side to life I can’t believe how I used to live. | Now I’ve seen another side to life I can’t believe how I used to live. |
| NPT’s 25 staff members are mostly rehabilitated former gang members. They study the gangs that operate in each area before approaching them and inviting them to sign truces. “We know the lexicon and the dynamics of the hood and the gangs. This helps us win their trust,” García says. Upon signing, every member must enrol in NPT’s educational programme, where they learn about community values, social responsibility, leadership, teamwork and sexual responsibility. NPT then helps to reintegrate them into society through school or employment. | NPT’s 25 staff members are mostly rehabilitated former gang members. They study the gangs that operate in each area before approaching them and inviting them to sign truces. “We know the lexicon and the dynamics of the hood and the gangs. This helps us win their trust,” García says. Upon signing, every member must enrol in NPT’s educational programme, where they learn about community values, social responsibility, leadership, teamwork and sexual responsibility. NPT then helps to reintegrate them into society through school or employment. |
| Although NPT still relies heavily on sponsorship from local businesses, the state government recently started providing some funding, technical support and human resources. “The safest city is not the one with the most police; it’s the one with the fewest criminals,” says Andrés Sumano, director of Nuevo León’s centre for crime prevention. “The only way to achieve this is to ensure these kids get educational and employment opportunities, plus psychological and medical attention.” | Although NPT still relies heavily on sponsorship from local businesses, the state government recently started providing some funding, technical support and human resources. “The safest city is not the one with the most police; it’s the one with the fewest criminals,” says Andrés Sumano, director of Nuevo León’s centre for crime prevention. “The only way to achieve this is to ensure these kids get educational and employment opportunities, plus psychological and medical attention.” |
| ‘You can’t fix this with soldiers and police’ | ‘You can’t fix this with soldiers and police’ |
| NPT staff such as Jordan serve as role models for rehabilitation. Now 24, he joined his older brother in the Destroyers gang when he was 15. His parents threw him out when he started doing drugs and neglecting his studies, and his life began to spiral out of control. | NPT staff such as Jordan serve as role models for rehabilitation. Now 24, he joined his older brother in the Destroyers gang when he was 15. His parents threw him out when he started doing drugs and neglecting his studies, and his life began to spiral out of control. |
| “At first I was inhaling solvents, then I started taking peyote, crack, weed and pills,” he says. “We fought hard with all the other gangs in the area. They cut my head open with rocks a bunch of times. I was arrested shitloads of times but you normally just spend a night in the station and then you’re out on bail. Now I’ve seen another side to life I can’t believe how I used to live.” | “At first I was inhaling solvents, then I started taking peyote, crack, weed and pills,” he says. “We fought hard with all the other gangs in the area. They cut my head open with rocks a bunch of times. I was arrested shitloads of times but you normally just spend a night in the station and then you’re out on bail. Now I’ve seen another side to life I can’t believe how I used to live.” |
| Five years have passed since NPT helped Jordan to leave the Destroyers. The tattoos that cover his body and the figurines of Santa Muerte, Mexico’s skeletal death saint, that hang from his neck serve as reminders of his past, but he’s more interested in what the future holds. “I want to keep working with NPT to stop other kids from ending up like I did,” he says. “I want to grow as a person, find a profession and start a new life. I’m separated from my wife and my son lives with her, but I want to give them a nice life and economic stability.” | Five years have passed since NPT helped Jordan to leave the Destroyers. The tattoos that cover his body and the figurines of Santa Muerte, Mexico’s skeletal death saint, that hang from his neck serve as reminders of his past, but he’s more interested in what the future holds. “I want to keep working with NPT to stop other kids from ending up like I did,” he says. “I want to grow as a person, find a profession and start a new life. I’m separated from my wife and my son lives with her, but I want to give them a nice life and economic stability.” |
| Josue, another NPT worker, said he joined the Destroyers at 16 after attending one of their parties and enjoying the sense of fraternity. A year later he met a girl from a rival neighbourhood, but whenever he visited her he had to be smuggled in by taxi like a gangland Romeo sneaking into Capulet territory. | Josue, another NPT worker, said he joined the Destroyers at 16 after attending one of their parties and enjoying the sense of fraternity. A year later he met a girl from a rival neighbourhood, but whenever he visited her he had to be smuggled in by taxi like a gangland Romeo sneaking into Capulet territory. |
| “One time when I went to visit her I saw a kid sitting on the curb with his girl. I came past half an hour later and he was lying there with stab wounds in his belly. He looked about 14 years old. He died.” | “One time when I went to visit her I saw a kid sitting on the curb with his girl. I came past half an hour later and he was lying there with stab wounds in his belly. He looked about 14 years old. He died.” |
| When NPT arrived in the area García convinced Josue to leave the Destroyers for the sake of his two young daughters. Now 23, he plans to finish high school and study mechanics. “I’ve gone about a year without any trouble,” Josue says with pride. “I’m an example for the gangs we work with. I tell them, ‘I was like you, I used to take drugs and get in fights but I got out before they killed me. Being in a gang only ends with death or prison.’” | When NPT arrived in the area García convinced Josue to leave the Destroyers for the sake of his two young daughters. Now 23, he plans to finish high school and study mechanics. “I’ve gone about a year without any trouble,” Josue says with pride. “I’m an example for the gangs we work with. I tell them, ‘I was like you, I used to take drugs and get in fights but I got out before they killed me. Being in a gang only ends with death or prison.’” |
| Having demonstrated that local youths do have an alternative pathway, García hopes his preventative model will be adopted elsewhere in place of the federal government’s militarised strategy against crime. | Having demonstrated that local youths do have an alternative pathway, García hopes his preventative model will be adopted elsewhere in place of the federal government’s militarised strategy against crime. |
| “You can’t fix this with more soldiers and police,” he says. “We need dialogue, love and affection. That’s what empowers young people, telling a kid that he’s important and has a future.” | “You can’t fix this with more soldiers and police,” he says. “We need dialogue, love and affection. That’s what empowers young people, telling a kid that he’s important and has a future.” |
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