Dog Fights and Cockfighting, a New Line of Business for Mexican Cartels Manuel Rueda - ABC/Univision
go to original February 24, 2013

The Cockumentary tells the story of one intrepid Canadian, Brent Hodge, who travels to Mexico to learn the dark art of cockfighting. After tracking down a cockfighting ring in the back alleys of Puerto Vallarta, Brent meets a local breeder who agrees to show him his farm which is stocked with a veritable fortune in fighting birds. After winning an impromptu fight, Brent purchases a bird which he names Pedro. While training Pedro for an upcoming fight, Brent forms an unlikely bond with his feathered friend and ultimately discovers the spirit behind this forbidden sport. (thecockumentary)

Prosecutors in Mexico suspect that two of the country´s most feared drug cartels are organizing cockfights, dog fights, underground horse races, and even fights between people, as they look for alternate sources of revenue.

This information was unveiled on last week by Mexican newspaper Excelsior, which reported that the national Attorney General´s Office, has launched 227 preliminary investigations against members of the Los Zetas gang and the Tijuana Cartel, who are presumably involved in these schemes.

Prosecutors also told Excelsior that dog fights and cock fights are taking place in Mexico City and the states of Veracruz, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Tabasco. All of these activities are allegedly tied to illegal gambling.

"Officials from the Attorney General´s office confirmed to us that criminal groups breed their own animals for illicit activities like dog fights," reports Excelsior, adding that fights between humans which are organized by the cartels, include boxing matches, or "full contact," bouts in which participants can get killed.

These allegations are not altogether surprising. It has been widely reported that over the past five years, Mexican cartels have diversified from the drug trade, and moved into activities like kidnapping people for ransom, taxing businesses, and smuggling immigrants across the U.S. border.

Read the whole story at ABC/Univision

Follow Manuel Rueda on Twitter: @ruedareport

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!