Attacks by organized crime cells on rehabilitation centers have become a troubling trend in Mexico in recent months. Earlier this year, The Latin Times reported that five such centers in Culiacán, Sinaloa, were shut down after members of Los Chapitos and La Mayiza targeted them in an effort to recruit new members, offering fake job opportunities in exchange for joining their factions.
The violence has since spread to the state of Guanajuato, where on Sept. 2, Mexican authorities reported that six unidentified men stormed the Alfa Fortaleza A.C. rehabilitation center in the city of Dolores Hidalgo and killed three men described as "padrinos" — individuals who mentor and support newcomers through recovery, not as professionals, but as role models who share their own experiences to help others overcome addiction.
