In a remote area of Zacatecas, a north-central state in Mexico, the bodies of six young men were found on Wednesday. Alongside them was a lone survivor, severely injured but in stable condition. The discovery comes in the wake of the abduction of seven teenagers from the same area over the weekend.
The identities of the deceased have not been officially confirmed, but an anonymous government source has reportedly verified to Reuters that the bodies are those of the missing boys. The teenagers, aged between 14 and 18, were kidnapped from a ranch in Zacatecas where they were spending a family weekend. According to reports, a group of armed men stormed the home in the early hours of Sunday morning, abducting the boys.
In response to the kidnappings, Mexican authorities initiated a large-scale search operation involving 300 soldiers from the Secretariat of National Defense, the National Guard, and police officers from Villanueva, the municipality where the crime occurred. Despite these efforts, the victims’ families took to the streets in protest, demanding more action from the authorities. They even blocked the Zacatecas-Malpaso highway on Tuesday.
The motive behind the kidnappings remains unclear. However, local speculation suggests that violent criminal gangs, which are prevalent in the area, may be involved. Zacatecas is known as one of Mexico’s most violent states, with rival gangs frequently clashing over profitable smuggling routes. Government data reveals that over 500 people were murdered in the state in the first eight months of this year alone.
This incident follows a similarly gruesome event in August, where five young men were brutally murdered on camera by a Mexican drug cartel in the neighboring state of Jalisco. The victims, all students and friends aged between 19 and 22, were lured with the promise of fake job offers, only to be brutally beaten, stabbed, and beheaded.