The defendant, known as "El Ponchis" ("The Cloak") is an American citizen who is 14 years old.
A video provided to CNN by the Mexican military shows the San Diego native after he was captured near Mexico City in December, as he allegedly was trying to flee. In an on-camera interrogation by Mexican military authorities, the youth admitted to brutally killing people -- the victims all were beheaded.
The video shows a military interrogator asking the slim teenager with curly hair several questions.
"How many have you killed?" he asks.
"Four," responds the accused, who seems calm and collected.
"How did you execute them?"
"I slit their throats."
A YouTube video that circulated last year purportedly showed the teenager beating a man with a two-by-four while the man was tied at the wrists and hanging from the ceiling, as other young people watched.
Juan Carlos Castro, a spokesman for the juvenile court holding the trial, says the charges against the teenager go well beyond what he admitted on video.
"This teenager is accused by the state attorney's anti-drug unit of crimes related to drug trafficking -- specifically cocaine and marijuana -- illegal possession of military weapons, and violations against federal organized crime law with the objective of committing kidnappings and aggravated murder," Castro said.
Raul Diaz Garcia, the state human rights commissioner for Morelos state, where Cuernavaca is located, is attending the trial. Diaz said he had an opportunity to speak with the defendant.
"He seemed coherent and looks clean. He spoke with us without any trouble and was smiling. We told him that we were there in case he had any questions (about his rights)," Diaz said.
"El Ponchis" is not the only minor in Mexico allegedly involved with drug cartels. Social media pictures have surfaced in the last year showing teenagers and young men holding high-caliber assault weapons and wearing masks.
Six youths were captured in October in a town about 30 miles south of Mexico City. Graffiti in the house where they were hiding linked them to the so-called South Pacific Cartel, a splinter group that formed after cartel leader and drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva was killed in a shootout with the Mexican military in December of 2009.
Veronica Morales, the director of the Mexican Network for the Rights of Children, said that unfortunately this is not an isolated case.
"According to academic studies, around 30,000 children and adolescents are currently involved or may be involved in organized crime," Morales says.
If found guilty, "El Ponchis" faces a sentence of three years in a correctional facility, the maximum allowed under Mexican law because of his age.
There will be about 60 witnesses testifying at the trial, which is expected to last about three weeks. A juvenile judge will determine guilt and decide on a sentence after hearing all the testimony and arguments by the prosecution and defense. There is no trial by jury in Mexico.
Christian Fragoso, a criminal defense attorney familiar with the case, says that even if prosecutors can prove a long criminal history, they will be restricted by current criminal juvenile law. "Only those crimes committed after reaching the age of 14 can be taken into account. He cannot be found guilty or sentenced for anything he did before," Fragoso says.
"El Ponchis" has been held at a state correctional facility in Cuernavaca since he was captured last December.
(CNN) -- The trial is being held under strict security measures.
Everybody likes porn, so why haven’t they ever made a theme park of it? That’s exactly what some people in South Korea thought in 2004, aso they came up with the best idea ever: a porn-themed amusement park! Located on Jeju Island, South Korea, Loveland is an outdoor park that features giant erotic statues portraying weird, kinky sex acts and positions. In other words, it’s not the best place to take a first date. Definitely a go-to for your third date, though.
If you enjoy Bon Bons, then you’ll probably be impartial to Bon Bon Land, because it really doesn’t have anything to do with Bon Bons. As the fourth largest theme park in Denmark (which is about as big as New Hampshire), Bon Bon Land boasts an impressive collection of wacky cartoon statues and carnival rides that you could find at the far end of any Wal-Mart parking lot, along with a whole bunch of playgrounds and a “Beaver Rafting Ride” that lets users ride down a little fake river in a raft. It was listed as one of the most popular Denmark tourist destinations in 2008, but that’s like saying you were the most popular student in your home school class. It’s Denmark, so it doesn’t really count.
For those of you who have never seen a construction site before (let alone been annoyed by one that’s been working right outside of your window every morning for several months in a row), you’re in luck: you can go to Diggerland! Diggerland is England’s premiere construction-themed amusement park. How exciting! At Diggerland, you can actually sit in construction equipment like forklifts, bulldozers, and even cranes! Just in case you’re wondering, you’re not allowed to operate any of the machinery at Diggerland. You can just sit in it. So it’s kind of like breaking into any construction site, except that you have to pay for a ticket.
Y’know what sucks about Disneyland? It just doesn’t have the “Communist USSR” vibe that we’re all looking for when we set out to an amusement park. Luckily, Isgyvenimo is here to save the day! Isgyvenimo is more of a dramatic experience than an amusement park, but it’s definitely a hot tourist destination for dozens of Lithuanians who really miss the good old days when the USSR controlled every facet of their lives. Visitors to Isgyvenimo will be immediately charmed by the parks rustic “Old Soviet Bunker” feel and those who don’t get freaked out from wearing a gas mask will get to experience the ins and outs of every day Lithuanian life back in 1984, when the country was under Soviet control. In Soviet Russia, amusement park enjoys YOU!
There’s no better way to top of your summer vacation than by having your eyes raped by vibrant pastels and rounded bubbly Sanrio cartoon characters, and that’s exactly what Japan’s Hello Kitty-themed Harmonyland has in store for you. And it’s not just the collection of creepy, child-like costumed characters that will enamor your soul. If you’re a 12-year old Asian girl, you’ll absolutely love this place. Otherwise, you’ll probably hate it. The theme park also boasts a whopping 12 Hello Kitty-themed rides and a number of live shows, so you’ll definitely make good use of the Hello Kitty Japanese-to-English dictionary you’ll buy in the gift shop.
If you’re looking for a solid escape from reality this summer, look no further than the mid-19th century-themed Dickens World. If you hate reliable indoor plumbing and love the smell of coal and dirty little panhandling kids with driving caps and cockneyed accents, then travel into the world of Charles Dickens. Explore a few streets modeled after the 19th century English neighborhood where Dickens lived. Look at a stunning recreation of Dickens’ house, and encounter a number of recognizable characters from famous Charles Dickens novels. Just be sure not to solicit the 1860′s English prostitutes, because as it turns out they are not real prostitutes and you will get kicked out of Dickens World, which is something that you can never be proud of.
