He escaped a ‘panic house’ in Mexico, where young drug users end up as hit men — or dead

The young man said he had lived in fear since he developed drug addiction and later became the prey of drug trafficking in Guanajuato, in central Mexico. “Unfortunately, they have already killed my best friend and my loved ones,” said the 19 -year -old, whose name is selected because he is afraid of reprisals.

“The drug addiction led me to a critical condition. I could not find a way out and I was afraid,” he told Noticias Telemundo.

A year ago, he managed to escape a panic house (also known as Panicueva, or Panic Cave) commonly used by criminal gangs organized in Mexico. Some of these buildings, located in Guanajuato and in other states, where severe drug use, also serves as a recruitment bases for young people selected to become strikers and agents for these criminal groups.

“This is the place you can go, buy your drugs and do it high,” said another 19 -year -old who managed to escape a panic house and was interviewed by Nottias Telemundo on the condition that he remains anonymous for fear of reprisals.

“I entered a panic house and saw several women who had to prostitute themselves, and several of my friends got involved in the sale of drugs and ended up being killed,” said the young man. He said he had spent five years live in one of the houses and finally joined a local gang.

According to the latest report published by the Mexican government, Guanajuato is the state with the greatest number of homicides (980 from January to April). In February, the daily average reached 12.5. Last year, the survey on the victimization and perception of security revealed that 87.5% of the population of Guanajuato considered public security as the most serious problem of the state.

“They put a weapon on my head, they threatened me, they told me that I was finished, that’s all. But the most horrible thing I saw is how they killed my best friend,” The young man said, referring to his experience in shelters.

“I had to do a lot of things … They send us to train to use a firearm, it all meets and from there come to a hit kille, from there come the thieves, the Hawks,” he said, referring to the murderers, the thieves and the drug traffickers.

“ They recruit more minors ”

Guanajuato is struggling with gang clashes on criminal activities such as fuel traffic, and is also the epicenter of an increasing epidemic of methamphetamine. According to data from the Federal Ministry of Health, the dependence rate on this state medication has increased by 449% in the past 20 years.

For David Miranda, advisor to Las Joyas de León Assistance Center, a civil association, the increase in the use of methamphetamine creates a social crisis in the state.

“They recruit more minors, aged 12 to 17,” said Miranda. “In these” panic houses “, they recruit many minors who are now strikers.”

Noticias Telemundo visited the Las Joyas district in the municipality of León, where, according to the Secretariat for State Security, criminal groups have taken over a 380 unit housing complex.

“The situation in León right now is demanding and very serious,” said Miranda. “Inside these houses, there are women, girls, minors, and you see drug trafficking, women’s trafficking, trafficking in everything.”

Most panic houses are found in neighborhoods of the working class like Las Joyas. According to the government of the State, there could be up to 60,000 houses through Guanajuato currently used for the consumption of illegal drugs.

“In fact, you can see a panic house in any corner, anywhere. It is very easy to find them. There are a lot of abandoned houses,” said one of the young men interviewed by Noticias Telemundo.

‘I don’t want to be caught’

According to state figures, at least 10 people have been murdered in panic houses in the past two years, and around 400 state districts have struggled with high crime rates.

“León is the number one city in terms of drug trafficking,” said Juan Mauro González, Guanajuato Security Secretary.

The “drug houses” are not unique in Mexico; Similar trends exist in other countries, such as drug houses in the United States or medication dens in Spain. “Although criminals can be attracted to abandoned houses, they are also spaces where potential victims and criminals tend to converge unattended. Our results support the idea that abandoned houses also generate crime, “said Lauren C. Porter, professor at the University of Maryland who co-wrote a study on the issue.

“The most important thing to rehabilitate people is to change their state of mind. They must say that they no longer want this, that they no longer want to suffer or be in this world where they have been humiliated, abused and forced to do things. They should want a different life; we do the rest and we help them,” said Miranda, who said that his center of drug addiction.

Meanwhile, young people and those interviewed by Notorias Telemundo continue to fight to avoid turning around and the dangers of “haunted houses” which abound in certain regions of Guanajuato.

“I’m afraid. I don’t want them to catch me again and force me to do things,” said one of the men, who said to Nottias Telemundo that he wanted to move to another neighborhood and have honest work as a pizza, because he likes to feed people.

“My life is already very ruined, I was very humiliated,” he said. “It’s time to make a change.”

An earlier version of this story was published for the first time in Noticias Telemundo.