"Char" for Borderland Beat
This article was translated and reposted from EL PAÍS
The kidnapping of five young people from Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, whose remains were found charred, shocks Mexico and shows the slow progress in the investigation of missing persons cases.
Written by Beatriz Guillén
In the photo they are kneeling, gagged and beaten. Their relatives say it is them, but Roberto Olmeda, Diego Lara, Uriel Galvan, Jaime Martinez and Dante Cedillo are much more. They practice boxing and cycling, they study engineering and work in a blacksmith's shop, they support America and Messi, they listen to Junior H and Peso Pluma. It was almost yesterday that they went to the movies to see Oppenheimer. Childhood friends, they are between 19 and 22 years old. On Friday, August 11, they met where they always meet: at the San Miguel viewpoint in Lagos de Moreno, in the Mexican state of Jalisco. They sent a last message at 10:55 p.m. to say that they were on their way home and after that there was only pain. The disappearance of the boys and the dissemination of the brutal images of their kidnapping have shaken an anesthetized country and show the difficulties of the authorities to clarify the cases of the missing.
On one side is the video of the horror - where two of the boys appear lying face down, with their white T-shirts covered in blood, and another of the boys forced to beat and stab one of his friends - and on the other, the recording of the group in a sunset at the lookout point, the video of Uriel as a child showing off his bicycle or the photos of Diego on the beach with his sister, Dante's cycling awards and the broken tears of Roberto's father waiting at the top of the lookout point for his missing son to return.
The scant official information prevents us from knowing who, where or why the boys were taken. The trail points to organized crime. The video released bore the mark "Puro MZ", which is attributed to Mayo Zambada, leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, and the car of one of the young men was found in flames on the highway linking Lagos de Moreno with Encarnacion de Diaz, a red zone for the dispute between the Sinaloa and the Jalisco Cartel of the New Generation (CJNG). The governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro, stated on Wednesday that it is "evident" the connection of crime with drug trafficking groups.
But first, where are the young men? Six days have passed and the authorities still have not recovered them. On Wednesday afternoon, the Attorney General's Office found the property where the photo and video were allegedly taken. Hours later they identified a farm with the charred remains of four people. Meanwhile, the broken families are just waiting: "Bring them back. It doesn't matter how they are. The people who have them, send them back. Don't wear us down again and again.
Roberto Olmeda Cuéllar
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3EWQm7fH7eYKDvhsFxiZKnNbomm3JKjsn5SIaS_lzz65kQeLeTVxvnu7peMJHKfUNUIYoMPPB-ZETr4liPMYF2XY_giC2lvE-GWx3Fc3_G1ObXkVDDZERfU1nykVpWm-fx89IXbT91n-GqD6g4fFtjCXGT8MGUzq11BXrdvyIHcW7MnWfSCJEbfbIy8M)
Armando Olmeda said worriedly that his son had already skipped a class. On Monday lessons began at the University of Guadalajara, where Roberto was in the sixth semester of Industrial Engineering, and the boy had already missed a day. "Yesterday classes started and he couldn't go, I know the teachers can wait for him, but, well, he already missed a class, but it's not his responsibility," said the father, who had refused to watch any video: "I don't want to watch anything, because maybe I can't stand to see that. I don't want to hurt my mind. I have to stay strong.
Roberto, known as Cochi, is 20 years old, a student and an athlete. He regularly practices boxing, often with Uriel. "He's a guy who hardly goes out, doesn't smoke, hardly drinks," said his brother Miguel these days. It was to him that Roberto sent an image last Friday from the San Miguel lookout point, while he was waiting for the rest of the group. "If I had my brother in front of me I would tell him that I love him very much, that I am very proud of him", he says in an interview, "my mother sells pozole on Saturdays and he is the one who helps her".
His Facebook account reveals his taste for rap and reading, his trips to Puerto Vallarta and Teotihuacán, his fondness for movies and sunsets. He celebrated his last birthday on December 12, when he wrote with a smiley face: "Already on the second floor #20years old". On August 11 he was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt, dark pants and white tennis shoes. On Wednesday afternoon, Armando wrote next to a photo of his son: "You are the sky, you will change the color, I will love you always, the magic stayed in me. 5 days for 5 angels".
Diego Lara Santoyo
It was her sister who raised the alarm on Twitter. Desperate, Magalli Lara wrote on Sunday: "Urgent: since last night, our lives are plunged in anguish. We have no news of my brother and his friends. Every minute counts in this desperate search." The young woman also said that the last communication with her brother had been on Friday at 10:55 p.m. when he was on his way home. But he never arrived.
Diego is 20 years old and works as a blacksmith. He works in his father's workshop. His family describes him as "a very cheerful boy and a very hesitant guy". He was proud of his car, a brown Volkswagen Jetta, which he even had as his Facebook cover photo. It was in that vehicle that the five young men drove that night. The Jalisco Prosecutor's Office found it in the early hours of Monday morning on the highway between Lagos de Moreno and Encarnación Díaz. The car was on fire and in the trunk were the remains of a male person, according to the authorities, who have yet to carry out the identification.
On the day of the disappearance he was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and ripped jeans, according to the search report. In the macabre leaked video a person with that description appears, lying on the floor, with his hands tied behind his back, surrounded by blood. "What makes them want to egg search to see such horrible content? Besides insisting and harassing families to see such content? Don't they think we are already going through enough pain?" wrote Magalli on Wednesday, after the dissemination of the images. She, in return, has shared images of her brother in a sunset on the beach: "Come, make fun of me with your most mocking laughter, challenge me with your eyes, but come."
Uriel Galván González
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgGd2ZEGXoEG2o88rfXoTOauOfD_W9JUXN6kWTMWyiirqsYZjQValhXtZTRqk0XnN_-THdcKUzUQrGBLaFuYiv_pmLZrhZfQitffqf860HuKMd3kSt5odseVkpo8ho1Sqc6tqaGNiLhR-b9HcfQYKzKK6esR_VwyeX9TKp8vpDgC0uIM0FRj2_GTfgJ1aA)
Uriel is the youngest of all, he is only 19 years old. His father Jaime said that the boy "is very cheerful, very friendly and very close to his family". They were alarmed as early as Friday night, when he didn't answer his cell phone when they called him and then he didn't go to sleep. "We dialed him and he didn't answer. It broke me down. I would tell him that I love him, that I miss him so much." It was his father who initiated Uriel's passion for bicycles, so much so that when he was very young he joined a group of cyclists in Lagos. He also practiced boxing with Roberto.
The day he disappeared he was wearing a white t-shirt, washed out jeans and black tennis shoes. His vehicle was located hours after his disappearance next to the Archangel parish, less than 60 meters from the San Miguel viewpoint where he had arranged to meet his friends. It was undamaged, which leads us to believe that he left it there to travel in Diego's car with the rest of the group.
Dante Cedillo
Dante was a professional cyclist, in the 2016 National Olympics, when he was still a minor, he won two gold medals in various categories. "He has national cups," his brother, Mauro Cedillo, has said these days. "He is my only family," the boy has pointed out, after explaining that his parents passed away. He has shared the search images with the phrase "your brother is waiting for you". He was 22 years old and the oldest of the group. He was wearing a black T-shirt and jeans on the day he disappeared. He was also carrying his pink Specialized bicycle.
In addition, Dante works in a restaurant and had started a new window silicone business. "You don't know the pain you are causing me knowing that you are no longer here. From one day to the next everything changed, so many years of friendship, so many moments and so many stories we had together, you taught me what the word loyalty means", wrote his friend Juan Alberto, "I keep all the beautiful things we lived, a person like you does not need prayers or masses because you are already in heaven accompanying your parents".
Jaime Martínez Miranda
His family and América: those were the two devotions of Jaime, 21, whose Facebook profile picture was a picture of his grandmother, and his cover was a picture of his mother and all his siblings. The boy, who worked as a bricklayer, regularly shared jokes and memes on social networks, as well as music by Peso Pluma and, especially, Junior H. He was wearing black shorts, sandals and socks on the day he disappeared.
"Jaime is a very happy boy, he loved to dance, he always had us smiling at any nonsense he did, he was the joy of us, he was my little boy, he is my little brother the youngest," said between tears his sister Ana, who begged the authorities to end the uncertainty.
Thank you for putting a story behind these young men’s stories…
ReplyDeleteForgive me, but whatever happened to the 3 who got kidnapped from Mazatlan?
These kids don't understand, Stay your jackass self indoors after 10pm. Your state is in chaos, have a mimosa during the day, get a girlfriend have a damn kid but stay indoors idiots. I'd blame the family members for letting them head out. Agan Caso estupidos, podrian ser hasta los militares, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the military 🪖🎖️ it has the makings to it, Mafia would've cut their heads, not let them Fight it out smh
DeleteArriva Choix Sinaloa
@3:08 Living in the US my entire life, it is crazy to me to think that the entire population is supposed to "know better" than to be outside of their home after dark or they might get tortured and murdered. I used to always hear Mexico had great "night life" (bars and clubs open basically all night long, etc).
Delete@1027 when you have a military as your police force and are still living in a mercenary controlled area, I'd get the f ck out. Oh and 2,000+ IED's found in my state, I think the "know better" would be stay your ass indoors before 10pm. Life sucks for you, move out. The people have done this to themselves, kinda like when the military booted you lol they dgaf buddy
DeleteYes when Disneyland didn't have men wearing dresses, gas was 1.27 and Lizzie McGuire was on TV
Delete@8:16 : Cry me a f*cking river,Bubba-Ray..
DeleteGreat article! It really makes it all the more savage and wrought with devastation. And for what? So some piece of shit genocidal warlord can pad his pockets and feed the machine?
ReplyDeleteMy condolences to the families, sincerely. But keep in mind these are family stories of loved ones. They might even be true.
ReplyDeleteSo what was that about? Failed forced recruitment?
ReplyDeleteprobably looked like a group of hitmen 5 young males in a nice car in a warzone
DeleteThe video was made only to cause problems to CJNG's enemy, CDS.. These boys were kidnapped because of some Tweaked out sicario wanted to make a Snuff clip and blame it on the enemy so hard,he kidnapped the first 5 guys who he bumped into. The fact these, clearly good young Men died for nothing angers me greatly.. One of the most Harebrained ideas I've seen in a while..
Delete"Friends" huh? I would rather die sooner than later, than brutalize a "friend" like that.
ReplyDeleteI understand your thinking but let's remember that the captors may have threatened to kill Bucaneer-hoodie guy's parents or maybe they said they'd abduct his sister.
DeleteThere are plenty of scenarios where it wasn't as simple as you present. Until we have all the information, it's better not to judge.
@5.03. You would sell your mother out sooner than this kid ''sold out'' his friends. Every one of those 5, let alone you, would have done the same. It doesn't need threats of murdering family members, and the men who took them know this, which is why it's so cruel. You are an innocent fool dude.
DeleteFrom 5:03 Hearst i think you are right, and all concerned understood the ramifications, only praying that it went swiftly. That's the only logical answer. Thanks!
DeleteNo i would not. Why? Did you not recognize that it doesnt matter. They will kill you anyway so why doing their dirty work? Its this opinion that makes me sick, but ok everyone if free to play victim.
DeleteExactly Ms Hearst. There are so many ways that can be used to make a person in that situation do something that may seem unethical or unthinkable. This shows one of the many shitty parts of life.
DeleteRubio NYC
Take care and be safe love.
Not even with information can we truly judge. It's the fact that until we individually are in that exact moment will we not even know ourselves what we would do, let alone what others would do. The brain and fight or flight responses are a crazy thing. Regardless, the others would have been dead emotionally once they watched their first friend killed viciously. I doubt there is any real coming back from witnessing that.
DeleteI’m a gringo that lived in N Western Mexico (Mazatlan) and it was interesting to see how respectable citizens assume all victims are criminals. This reflexive assumption has been trained and ingrained; and I think that’s unfortunate.
ReplyDeleteYou’re correct. People are ignorant af. They always justify these things by saying “algo hizo” o “andaba mal”
DeleteMexico. The land of endless heartbreak.
ReplyDeleteI blame the immoral, inhumane [CDS] for Méxicos bloodiest sexenío 😔.
ReplyDelete5:52 i would say since 2008 CDS desistabilized the hole cartel scenerio, before then most of the cartels kindda respected the terfs, nadie se pasava de verga, until they did and everything went down hill, may i say i use to believe they were the good cartel, but after actually paying attention and watching this shit unfold i can 100% sure say CDS fucked the business up big time, and now they still blame the rivals, which by the way are the same pieces of shit
DeleteUhmmm you forgot the Zetas?!..
DeleteFelipe Calderon was the one who began the war on cartels that led to the destabilization and militarization of the country. Cartels started to get more aggressive against each other, against the citizens, and law enforcement. You can't just blame one, they all had a hand in it.
Delete9:57 Are you forgetting who Calderon (Garcia Luna) made a pact with? CDS, dont tell me you didnt know that, Garcia Luna and CDS with the blessing from Calderon atarted all this shit, they backstabbed all the other cartel capos and in retaliation they broke all those deals they had before, yes i know its every cartel's fault but the ones who broke those deals first was CDS, they snitched on all the other cartels and thats how they got the snitching cartel nickname, look man if you didnt know this by now it only leads me to believe you are a newbee, they CDS even snitched on Calderon, Garcia Luna thats why he is in jail, peña nieto and countless others, its in the USA court papers if you dont believe me
DeleteI know many professionals in Mexico from Lawyers, Engineers and Doctos. Many have ties to organized crime. They even invest on work shipped to the States. In many instances have plugs in the States. These professionals, have personalities that are similar to what is described here. Not saying they were up to something bad just sharing the reality in may scenarios.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn’t doubt that at all… Makes a lot of sense, unfortunately..
DeleteMeanwhile AMLO does nothing to stop the cartel infestation in Mexico
ReplyDeleteWe all know his motto "abrazos no balasos"
Just on other president taking bribes from cartels
Another 5 were kidnapped yesterday 08/19 in Lagos. All were brothers. From ages 18 to 23
ReplyDeleteYeah I'm sure CJNG is just on some psychotic phase were their targeting random males for no apparent reason?
DeleteCDS TRYNA HEAT UP JALISCO 🔥
Meanwhile the ones in power sit on their thumbs by a pool..
Delete6:22 MG trying to heat up the plaza so that the Government gets involved and gives him a little brake cause CJNG are on his ass
DeleteMG is to blame, cds kill often in Sinaloa, you just won't see it reported, women and young men. This has allot of attention cause it was done for that purpose. Yea.. Nice try joto snitcholas
DeleteYall fail to realize that this has been happening in Jalisco only difference is that they recorded it
Delete12:35 been happening every where bud
DeleteGood news! They are not missing!
Deletehttps://www.radioformula.com.mx/nacional/2023/8/21/desmienten-desaparicion-de-hermanos-en-lagos-de-moreno-nunca-hemos-pisado-jalisco-776980.html
GAD they're safe after all.
DeleteWhat shoddy journalism standards of the press in México with all the confusion regarding this "disappearance".
5:01 that is an interesting article and also the video by the second man on the left of the picture where the five siblings are.
DeleteSOL can you do a translation of the video so non Spanish readers can understand what he says.
Thanks Char:
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned recently in a previous post, the lives of these innocent civilians must be reported on. If you just list their names readers will just flip the page and forget about them before they get halfway through the next article.
The lives of these victims must be reported on. This is what makes the public angry which leads to change. I hope this article makes everyone angry.
One thing that we all have in common on this blog is that we all love Mexico and want to see change. Many of us have family and friends directly affected by the violence. Mexico is failing it's citizens in it's most fundamental duty, the safety and protection of it's citizenry. We have to reject the current path that Mexico is on and elect new leadership in 2024. 35,000 homicides per year is unacceptable. There must be change.
So which one was the killer ? Or did they just kill the guy who killed his friends also…. Confused
ReplyDeleteAll 5 bodies were found at the end of the day …
DeleteIt's litterly said only 4 bodies found. Learn to read.
Delete8:49 were at? Cause at the beggining it clearly mentions the 5 boys and it continues by saying (whose remain were found charred) it does not say "only four were found and 1 still missing" or nothing like that, maybe you should learn how to read, or let me guess you saw it in Blog del Narco or some other site, who are "credible" just by you
DeleteOnly one body has been found in the trunk of the burned car
DeleteTo add to my comment. 4 charred bodies were found in a ranch and one body was found in the burned out car of one of the victims.
DeleteJaime was killer
DeleteIt's sad to say, but maybe more horror stories like the one being played out before our eyes will bring the ordinary citizens of Mexico to the point of going after the true criminals of Mexico and really the rest of the world, and that is the elites who profit off of the pain of the ordinary man. Once those who hide in the shadows are dealt with it will be a hell of a lot easier to clean up the criminals who do the bidding of the elites.
ReplyDeleteThey just had to be tweaked out of their minds
ReplyDeletethat's the only way this makes any sense to me.
is Lagos even an active plaza like a killing zone like that?
why would these guys do this to civilians
they don't seem involved at all. Mistaken, or personal feud that went too far. or just pure senseless killing of innocents.
Clearly they had agenda to bring attention/heat to the area… and unfortunately, it worked.
DeleteThey could have burned cars or trucks or dropped some bodies and a manta
DeleteBut yeah that’s right
It got the attention
But who wants that plaza so bad
That’s retail only
2:30 who's trying to heat up the area so Federal forces come so they don't lose the few plazas they've had for some time?
DeleteNow another 5 siblings are missing from that area, 1 female and 4 males.
It's not too difficult to understand who and why are these levantones and killings happening and being PUBLICIZED.
So who was fella in Buccaner hoodie?
ReplyDeleteJaime Martínez Miranda
DeleteBut but Mexico is safer than US says Elmo
ReplyDeletejaime was the one who decapitated them and hes still alive!! he joined the cartel hes the only one whos life was a pos the other guys were doing good but brick layer in a small town...idk he flipped
ReplyDeleteIf that's the case then when he gets killed in a confrontation with rivals or law enforcement hopefully it's publicized.
Deleteso who's body was in the trunk of the car?
Delete12:28 government hasn't said
DeletePlus he was the only one dressed in comfy sports clothes, while then others were more dressed up. He wasn’t planing on going for an outing like his friends. He didnt look scared or alarmed or even beat up when he was tied up and kneeling down. Something tells me he was up to no good that night. I feel bad for his friends they looked like nice guys with a bright future
Delete7:05 I went back and just looking at the photos you're right he doesn't look as scared or beat up as the others. The other 4 look like they were crying. His eyes were dry. Crazy if true. The worst betrayal
DeleteYou might be onto something...
Deletethank you for posting this article. so many people had just wrote them off and said they were up to no good therefore they had it coming. now people will get to know what they had going on in their lives and gives a story to go along with that awful video. I hope the families get their bodies back so they can at least bury them. this is just awful.
ReplyDeleteIf i visit Chicago, my chances of getting shot or killed by gunfire goes way up vs me living in gentrified area of Los Angeles. I dont have to be involved in anything bad for me to go out that way. Same principle applies to Mexicans in Mexico. Simple/Obvious.
ReplyDeleteSurely it would depend on the area in Chicago you're visiting?
DeleteYou know where it Hot Boy.
DeleteWut???
DeleteBobby Shmurda..
DeleteChicago has it's good sections, then you have the ghettos, go directly there and your asking for trouble.
Delete8:21 people have been killed in downtown chicago, in the rich shopping areas and lake shore drive all the time. Bums have stabbed people also in the downtown area. So its not safe in the good sections either
Delete11:10 off to TJ I go to live happily ever after...
DeleteThe cynic in me agrees with the notion of the dude who did the killing involved in the cartel. Pure speculation but it's hard to dismiss
ReplyDelete