from Venezuela, Panama, and Ecuador. The Colombian government's security forces do not officially recruit children as the legal age for both compulsory and voluntary recruitment has been set at 18. However, students were allowed to enroll as cadets in military secondary schools and 16- or 17-year-olds could enter air force or national army training programs, respectively. In addition, captured enemy child combatants were employed by the Colombian military for intelligence gathering purposes in potential violation of legal prohibitions. The demobilization efforts targeted toward the FARC in 2016–2017 have provided hope that the conflict will come to an end, limiting the number of children involved in violence. However, other armed groups have yet to be demobilized, and conflict is not yet resolved. Cuba In Cuba, compulsory military service for both boys and girls starts at age 17. Male teenagers are allowed to join the Territorial Troops Militia prior to their compulsory service. Haiti In Haiti an unknown number of children participate in various loosely organised armed groups that are engaged in political violence. Mexico In Mexico an unknown number of children are used by criminal organizations like the Gulf Cartel in the mexican drug war to fight the government and the other rival cartels. Also the Grupos de autodefensa comunitaria recruited some children to defend their villages from the violence of the local crime groups, one of the self-defense groups that recruit soldier children is Coordinadora Regional de Autoridades Comunitarias-Pueblos Fundadores (CRAC-PF) to fought with Los Ardillos, a criminal group split from the Beltrán Leyva Cartel. The battles between CRAC-PF and Los Ardillos caused 53 deaths. Paraguay The government of Paraguay accused the guerrilla groups EPP and the ACA of recruit child soldiers to fight the government in the ongoing insurgency in the northeastern part of the country. United States In the United States 17-year-olds may join the armed forces with the written agreement of parents. approximately 16,000 17-year-olds were being enlisted annually. The US Army describes outreach to schools as the 'cornerstone' of its approach to recruitment, and the No Child Left Behind Act gives recruiters the legal right of access to all school students' contact details. Children's rights bodies have criticized the US' reliance on children to staff its armed forces. The committee on the Rights of the Child has recommended that the US raise the minimum age of enlistment to 18. In negotiations on the OPAC treaty during