Mexican Police: Border State Mass Killing Tied to Human Smuggling Turf War

Authorities in the border state of Chihuahua claimed the recent killing of eight men is tied to an organized crime turf war over human smuggling routes. Police found the bodies dumped on the side of a highway.

This week, Chihuahua Attorney General Cesar Jauregui told local journalists that the early stages of the investigation point to the victims having been kidnapped days before, with two of them being held for as many as 17 days before the gruesome killing.

#Seguridad | Chihuahua, Chih.- Al menos dos de las ocho personas localizadas sin vida el domingo en la carretera Chihuahua-Ciudad Juárez son originarias de Sinaloa, afirmó el fiscal César Jáuregui. pic.twitter.com/3T4XWcCByU

— Canal 44 – El Canal de las Noticias Chihuahua (@Canal44CUU) April 23, 2024

As Breitbart Texas reported, on Sunday, authorities found eight bodies on the side of the road along the highway that connects Chihuahua City with the border city of Juarez. The victims all showed signs of torture. Further down the road, authorities found a torched vehicle that they believe was used to move the bodies.

Since then, Jauregui stated that they have been able to identify some of the victims and learned that some were from the state of Sinaloa and some were from nearby local communities.

Jauregui claimed that two of the victims, who were from Sinaloa, had previously been reported as kidnapped. According to El Diario de Juarez, relatives of one of the kidnapping victims had paid approximately $15,000 USD to the captor for their release.

The killings come at a time when Mexico continues to see rising levels of violence despite numerous false claims by the federal government about decreasing crime rates.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.