Mexico City: One day after a vigilante group revealed that it was using children as young as eight as "recruits" for armed defence patrols, Mexico's president said on Thursday that drug cartels too are recruiting every-younger kids.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Credit:AP

The whole issue has sparked a debate in Mexico over the use of children in armed confrontations, with rights groups saying the practice threatens not only kids' safety, but their mental health.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that because social programs are giving more youths opportunities to study or work, drug cartels are having trouble finding gunmen, leading them to recruit children.

"The gangs are having trouble getting hit men, so they are recruiting more children and young people, because there is competition," Lopez Obrador said.