CIUDAD VICTORIA, May 30 — Suspected drug traffickers murdered five Mexican band members who went missing over the weekend after being hired to perform in a crime-wracked northeastern city, authorities said yesterday
Nine alleged drug cartel members were arrested on suspicion of killing the musicians, public prosecutor Irving Barrios told a news conference.
The announcement came hours after officials said five bodies had been found in the search for the men, who were members of a local band called Fugitivo.
Relatives had reported receiving ransom demands for the musicians, aged between 20 and 40 years old, who were last seen on Sunday in Reynosa, in Tamaulipas state, near the US border.
The musicians were hired to put on a concert but arrived to find a vacant lot, according to family members who had held a protest urging the authorities to act.
Investigators used video surveillance footage and cellphone tracking to establish the musicians’ movements, Barrios said.
They are believed to have been kidnapped on Sunday night while traveling in a vehicle to a private event, he said.
“Law enforcement arrested nine individuals considered likely responsible for the events. They are known to be members of a criminal cell of the Gulf Cartel,” Barrios added.
Nine firearms and two vehicles were seized, he said.
Tamaulipas is considered one of Mexico’s most dangerous states due to the presence of gang members involved in drug and migrant trafficking, as well as other crimes including extortion.
Criminal violence has claimed more than 480,000 lives in Mexico since 2006 and left around 120,000 people missing.
Mexican musicians have previously been targeted by criminal groups that pay them to compose and perform songs that glorify the exploits of their leaders.
Such performers often live in close proximity to their drug lord patrons, and can at times get caught up in gang turf battles.
In 2013, 17 musicians from the group Kombo Kolombia were executed by alleged cartel members in the northeastern state of Nuevo Leon, allegedly because of links to a rival gang.
In January this year, a small plane was reported to have dropped pamphlets on a northwestern city threatening around 20 music artists and influencers for alleged dealings with a warring faction of the Sinaloa drug cartel.
The popularity of “narcocorrido” songs glamorizing the criminal underworld has prompted President Claudia Sheinbaum to launch a music competition aimed at creating “new musical narratives that move away from the glorification of violence.”
Several regions in the country have banned “narcocorridos,” sparking a recent riot during a concert after a singer refused to perform some of his most popular songs. — AFP