In August 2023, a horrifying video circulated on social media, showing the brutal execution of five college students by a drug cartel in Mexico. The victims, who were friends and classmates, had been kidnapped a week earlier while returning from a party. The video, which lasted for more than 15 minutes, showed the masked gunmen interrogating, torturing, and shooting the terrified teens while making them beg for their lives and confess to crimes they did not commit.
The most shocking part was that one of the victims, who appeared to be the youngest, was forced to kill his friends with a machete, while the gunmen threatened him with guns. The video was a clear message from the cartel to their rivals and the authorities, who have been struggling to contain the escalating violence in the country. The video also sparked outrage and grief among the families and friends of the victims, who demanded justice and accountability for the horrific crime. This article will explore the background, details, and consequences of the cartel’s cruel act and the challenges that Mexico faces in its fight against organized crime.
Background of Cartel Video: 5 friends
The video that showed the execution of five friends by a drug cartel in Mexico was not an isolated incident, but a result of a long and bloody conflict that has plagued the country for decades. The drug war in Mexico began in the late 1980s when the Colombian cartels started to use Mexico as a transit point for smuggling cocaine and other drugs to the United States. The Mexican cartels, which were initially hired as intermediaries, soon became powerful and independent actors, competing with each other and with the Colombian cartels for control of the lucrative drug market.
The violence escalated in the 2000s when the Mexican government launched a military campaign against the cartels, which responded with more brutality and corruption. The cartels also diversified their activities, engaging in kidnapping, extortion, human trafficking, and oil theft. The drug war has claimed more than 300,000 lives, displaced millions of people, and eroded the rule of law and human rights in Mexico. One of the most notorious and violent cartels in Mexico is the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which is responsible for the video of the five friends.
The CJNG emerged in 2010 as a splinter group of the Sinaloa Cartel, which was led by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is now serving a life sentence in the United States. The CJNG quickly expanded its territory and influence, challenging the dominance of the Sinaloa Cartel and other rival groups. The CJNG is known for its ruthless tactics, such as beheading, dismembering, and burning its enemies, and for its use of social media to spread fear and propaganda.
Details of 5 Friends Killed by Cartel: Video
- The victims were identified as Roberto Olmeda, Diego Lara, Uriel Galvan, Jaime Martinez, and Dante Cedillo, who were between 18 and 22 years old. They were students at the Polytechnic University of Guanajuato, a public institution in the city of Irapuato.
- The victims were kidnapped on August 11, 2023, when they were returning from a party in the city of Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, an area known for cartel violence. They were lured by a fake job offer as private security guards, which was a trap set by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of the most powerful and violent cartels in Mexico.
- The video was uploaded to the internet on August 14, 2023, and showed the masked gunmen interrogating, torturing, and shooting the terrified teens while making them beg for their lives and confess to crimes they did not commit. The most horrifying part was that one of the victims, who appeared to be the youngest, was forced to kill his friends with a machete, while the gunmen threatened him with guns. The video ended with the young man being shot in the head by one of the gunmen.
- The video also had a text that said “Puro MZ”, which was an apparent reference to Mayo Zambada, the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, a rival of the CJNG. The video was a clear message from the CJNG to their enemies and the authorities, who have been struggling to contain the escalating violence in the country.
- The bodies of the victims were later found in a ditch and a burned-out car, along with a banner that read “This is what happens to those who support the Sinaloa Cartel”. The banner also had the initials of the CJNG and a drawing of a skull.
- The video sparked outrage and grief among the public, who demanded justice and accountability for the horrific crime. The authorities launched a massive search and investigation and called for federal prosecutors to take over the case, as it involved organized crime and threatened the stability of the state. The video also recalled the darkest days of drug cartel brutality in Mexico, when beheadings and mutilations were common in the 2000s. The drug war in Mexico has claimed more than 300,000 lives, displaced millions of people, and eroded the rule of law and human rights in the country.
Public and Official Outcry over 5 Friends killed by Cartel Video
A video of a drug cartel killing five college students in Mexico has caused anger and sorrow among the people and the authorities, who have asked for justice and responsibility for the terrible crime. The relatives of the victims were heartbroken and furious by the video and recognized their family members by their clothing, tattoos, and physical traits. They also organized a vigil and a demonstration outside the Jalisco state government building, where they requested the help of the federal government and the president to resolve the case. The authorities initiated a vast search and investigation, and asked federal prosecutors to handle the case, as it involved organized crime and endangered the stability of the state .
They also searched a series of ranch buildings where the savage scene was supposedly recorded and discovered bloodstains, shoes, and four burned and beheaded bodies. A fifth body was located by police inside a burned-out car in a nearby area. The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, denounced the video and the violence and said that his government will not allow impunity or corruption. He also said that he would back the state government and the prosecutors in their efforts to find and punish the culprits.
The governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro, said that the video was a clear assault against the stability of the state and that it showed the brutality and cruelty of the drug cartels. He also said that the video was a message from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) to their enemies and the authorities, who have been struggling to control the rising violence in the country. The human rights organizations and activists condemned the video and the violence and called for the protection of the victims’ families and the witnesses. They also urged the authorities to respect the due process and the human rights of the suspects and to avoid any acts of torture or extrajudicial killings.