Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
A 16-year-old boy suspected of being a hitman for a notorious Mexican cartel has reportedly had his head blown off by cops during a bloody shootout – as shown in this gruesome picture.
According to local media, Juanito Pistola joined the Tropa del Infierno (Hell’s Troop) gang, part of the Cartel del Noreste (CDN), when he was just 13 years old.
Nicknamed ‘Comandante Chikitin’ (‘Commander Little’), Pistola was inside a van with other alleged gang members when they were reportedly ordered to ambush a police team in the town of Nuevo Laredo in the north-eastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas.
The bodies of the teenager and six other people were found inside the van after the standoff with cops, according to reports.
After police searched the van, which had US licence plates, Juanito was reportedly found with his head blown off.
Local media said that the van had been used in an attack on the police several days before in a different part of the city.
According to reports, cartels often recruit minors to mainly work as drug smugglers.
Juanito, who reportedly joined the cartel when he was 13, had risen through the ranks to become a hitman at the time of his death, according to local media.
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