Need a Hit Man? Check Out Mexican Classifieds

Betty McMahon July 13, 2008

They have yet to show up on Craigslist, but ads offering the services of a killer for hire are appearing in Mexican classified sections and on web sites.

According to one of the ads, you can hire a hit man for as little as $6,000. And the job is guaranteed to be carried out in 10 days or less.

The ads may be fake or they may be real, but Mexico law enforcement is taking them seriously.

In the increasingly lawless environment of drug cartel violence, a hit man could simply be taking advantage of the law of supply and demand. And demand there is, as the organized gangs are mowing each other down on a daily basis. A hit man for hire could have more work than he can handle, as 1,700 people have been killed already this year in attacks between rival cartels.

Only in today's technie, sometimes tacky environment, would you not be overly surprised to find a web site that offers the services of a hired assassin. Tucked among ads for people selling old Maytags or listing apartments for rent was one advertising the services of an “"ex-military hit man, professional and discrete (sic)."

The phenomenon could also reflect “job seekers” taking the initiative in response to blatant radio spots that Mexican drug gangs ran in Guatemala seeking ex-soldiers to work as smugglers for a drug cartel. By running an ad himself, a hit man could choose from several offers.

The ads are not all seeking work with drug cartels. Some appeal to anyone with a grudge who wants it taken care of permanently. "Hit man -- Killer for Hire," an Internet ad reads: "Problems with a certain person? Want it taken care of? Write me. I am 100 percent professional and don't charge in advance."

Because of the unwieldy Mexican justice system, only a handful of homicides are solved, so a hit man has little to fear from law enforcement and the courts. If the police are overwhelmed in trying to solve murders, chances are slim that they will aggressively pursue the sources of the hit man ads.