Over 200 representatives from 20 countries gathered in Mexico City on 19-20 December at the Mexican Ministry for Security and Citizen Protection. The Forum was co-organised  by the Pompidou Group, the Mexican Foreign Ministry and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) of the Organization of American States (OAS). 

A key topic was the increasing use of online gaming platforms by drug traffickers to recruit young people into illicit drug trading. As the darknet is losing popularity among drug cartels – because the authorities have become more effective in monitoring it – online video games and social networks are now being used to lure youth into illicit drug trading, because such gaming platforms are not well monitored. 

Ms Rosa Icela Rodríguez, Mexican Minister for Security and Citizen Protection, pointed out that some 72% of boys and girls aged 6 to 11 surf the web, 92% between the ages of 12 and 17 and 95% between 19-24 years old. “The Mexican government has made it a priority to establish prevention strategies for young people,” she said, “which is why we are holding this forum.”

In opening speeches, key participants welcomed international cooperation that the forum fostered to face such threats against youth, including Alejandro Celorio Alcántara, Principal Legal Adviser to the Mexican Foreign Ministry and Angela Crowdy, CICAD Assistant Executive Secretary and Thomas Kattau Deputy Executive Secretary of the Pompidou Group.