Nine students who went on holiday in southern Mexico in February have been found with their hands severed, left in a deserted car.
The bodies were found in San Jose Miahuatlan, roughly 175 miles from Mexico City, and are feared to be yet another cartel killing.
The nine students had reportedly traveled from Tlaxcala to Oaxaca for holidays when they were targeted – but other local news outlets have claimed they were members of ‘Los Zacapoaxtlas’, another gang.
Eight of the nine victims have been identified so far, ranging in age from 19 to 28.
They include Brenda Mariel, 19, Lesly Noya Trejo, 21, Jacqueline Ailet, 23, Raul Emmanuel, 28, Noemi Yamileth, 28, Angie Lizeth, 29, Ruben Antonio, and Rolando Armando.
The gruesome nature of the bodies has led authorities to believe the cartel was involved in their murders, but no suspects have been formally identified.
Head of Puebla’s State Attorney General’s Office Idamis Pastor Betancourt said: ‘So far I cannot offer information. There are lines of investigation, but I cannot reveal them due to confidentiality.’
A vehicle of interest was identified by police, driving on the highway near where the students’ bodies were found – but no further information has been released yet.
‘All relevant investigations are being carried out. When we have a response and the investigation is complete, we will be able to provide more information,’ he added.
As of May 2024, cartels controlled about one third of Mexico’s territory, with the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels responsible for the vast majority of drug trafficking in the United States, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
There are worries that violence could increase further. According to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, lethal clashes between gangs have increased 18% since 2023.
‘The first 11 months of 2024 saw the broadening of conflict zones, with violence exceeding levels recorded in all of 2023 in at least 14 of Mexico’s 32 federal entities,’ they wrote.
More Trending
In 2014, 43 students from a Rural Teacher’s College were kidnapped in a famous case – there is no indication the students are alive. Only three of the students’ remains have been found.
Last autumn, a bloody ‘civil war’ between cartels was sparked when trafficker and cartel leader Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada was arrested in the United States.
Violence and fighting escalated in early September, with some schools, shops and restaurants closing in the town of Culiacan.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Man posed as NBA agent before ‘stealing and swallowing £597,000 Tiffany earrings’
MORE: Mum killed on Valentine’s Day was shot in neck by partner who ‘took own life’
MORE: Two charged with murder of man by Tube station more than 40 years ago
