Five students tragically lost their lives to cartel violence after being lured with a fictitious job proposal.
The incident took place in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, Mexico on August 11, where the students, aged 19 to 22, were abducted by 10 armed men.
The victims, identified as Roberto Olmeda Cuellar, Dante Cedillo Hernández, Jaime Adolfo Martinez Miranda, Diego Alberto Lara Santoyo, and Uriel Galván González, believed they were attending a meeting regarding employment as security personnel. However, upon reaching the site, they were forced to engage in cartel activities, specifically, an assassination as part of their initiation.
Videos of their killings surfaced online, causing a wave of shock and grief. The horrific video showed the five on their knees, with duct tape on their mouths, their faces bleeding and bruised. The men were made to lie down, and one of the five ordered to beat, stab and decapitate another. Authorities have since found a farm with the burnt remains of four bodies and are working to ascertain if they belong to the aforementioned students. A fifth body was found inside a torched car owned by one of the victims.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is the prime suspect behind these heinous acts. It’s reported that the cartel uses a system of sham call centers to entice unsuspecting job seekers, eventually coercing them into joining the cartel ranks.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has faced backlash in the wake of the incident, with the public questioning his approach towards cartel violence.
Jalisco’s Governor Enrique Alfaro is calling on federal authorities to oversee the case, emphasizing the need to confront the rising tide of organized crime.
