Veracruz's prosecutor's office dismantled a cartel training center operating under the guise of a rehabilitation facility in Coatzacoalcos. Five people were arrested during a raid, along with weapons, drugs, and items linked to organized crime. The site, called 'Hablemos de Felicidad', functioned for logistics and recruiting new members.
In a raid carried out in the Lázaro Cárdenas neighborhood, in the Nuevo Mundo congregation of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Veracruz's prosecutor's office executed a search warrant at the supposed rehabilitation center 'Hablemos de Felicidad'. This facility, which posed as a shelter for people addicted to alcohol and drugs, turned out to be a training camp for criminal groups.
During the operation, the prosecutor's agents were attacked by the five individuals present: Vicente ‘N’, Miguel Ángel ‘N’, Rubén ‘N’, Carlos Eduardo ‘N’, and Esmeralda ‘N’. All were arrested and placed in preventive detention. Seized items include live cartridges, firearms, bladed weapons, granulated substances resembling crystal meth, cash, a gun magazine, and bags labeled for a criminal group.
According to the prosecutor's statement, the center was identified after arresting people connected to organized crime. It served as a logistics hub and training ground for narco recruits. The site is now under the protection of the Mexican Army.
This incident highlights the long-standing ties between rehab centers in Mexico and organized crime. For instance, in 2019, in Colima, armed commandos killed six residents in one such center and abducted 26 young people from another; in Ensenada, marijuana was seized from a shelter.
