Some Colombian veterans were lured to Mexico by the promise of high-end jobs, only to discover their new employer was a drug cartel.

The former head of the Drug Enforcement Administration said the presence of foreign fighters in the cartel wars could justify U.S. actions in Mexico.

MEXICO CITY — Dangerous new hired guns have arrived on the battlefield of Mexico’s cartel wars: Colombian mercenaries.

Former combatants in Colombia’s long-standing internal conflict are increasingly being lured to Mexico by criminal groups to train hitmen, build bombs and fight bloody turf battles.

Eleven Colombians were arrested in Michoacán state last week in connection to a roadside bomb attack that killed eight members of Mexico’s National Guard. Colombia’s foreign ministry said all of the detained me

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