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The identities of the Mexican students who were brutally murdered were revealed. Earlier this week, a video circulating around the internet showcased the brutal torture and murder of five Mexican students by the Mexican drug cartel. The five friends were deceived and tricked by the cartel into accepting a fake job offer.
Disclaimer: The following article contains descriptions and discussions of graphic violence and brutality.
Reports indicated that the cartel lured the students, hoping for them to join their ranks, but killed them once they refused to do so. The victims were five males aged between 19 and 22. An image has gone viral on social media showcasing the five victims bound and tied before their deaths.
According to an El Pais report, the victims were identified by their families and relatives. They were identified as Roberto Olmeda, 20, Diego Lara, 20, Uriel Galvan, 19, Jaime Martinez, 21, and Dante Cedillo, 22. The young men were childhood friends who were on a trip to attend a festival in Lagos de Moreno, an area infamous for cartel violence.
According to a Daily Mail report, Jaime was a bricklayer, Dante was a National Olympic gold medalist and professional cyclist, Diego was a blacksmith, Roberto was an industrial engineer, and Uriel was a boxer and cyclist. The viral image showcased all five friends tortured, gagged, and kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs.
The story of the brutal execution of five innocent students
El Universal journalist Carlos Arrieta said that the five young students were tricked and deceived by the Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) cartel into a meeting with them. The young students were last heard from while in Lagos de Moreno in Jalisco, Mexico, on August 11.
El Universal reported that the men had contacted a call center for potential employment, but the call center is said to be often managed by the cartel to forcefully recruit members. According to the report, the call center allegedly offers lucrative jobs but is actually a hoax to get people to forcefully join the cartel.
The El Universal report has yet to be confirmed by the Jalisco Attorney General’s Office. It is also not confirmed if the murder was carried out by CJNG or the Sinaloa cartel. Both cartels competed for control of La Orilla del Agua, a neighborhood in Lagos de Moreno. El Pais also stated that the logo on the video "Pure MZ" belonged to Mayo Zambada, who led the Sinaloa Cartel.
The video of the brutal murder of the five students shook the internet to its very core. It featured brutality beyond description. The men were on their knees, taped, while being stabbed and beaten. One of the men was reportedly ordered to kill his own friend by cartel members who filmed the entire incident. The video featured the man brutally bludgeoning and decapitating his friend.
Witness reports indicate that the men were kidnapped and seized while in San Miguel and were forced into a white pickup van with windows blacked out by members of the cartel. The charred remains of four of the young students were found in an abandoned building in Jalisca on Wednesday. Another body was later found in the trunk of a burning car on a highway near Lagos de Moreno.
