By Brandon Cottrell 
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – On May 26, twelve teenagers were kidnapped from an after-hours club.  This past week, a mass grave containing thirteen bodies was found in a neighborhood outside of Mexico City.  Of the thirteen bodies recovered, at least five of the bodies were identified as those of the kidnapped teenagers.  Authorities believe that the remaining bodies will soon be identified as the other teenagers.

The bodies, which were covered in lime and asbestos and buried under concrete, were decapitated.  The decapitation is reminiscent of murders preformed by the drug cartel in other parts of Mexico.  While the drug war has caused little violence in the capital region, this murder is believed to be a “gangland battle for control of the lucrative drug trade in the poshest bars and nightclubs” in Mexico City.

Authorities believe the kidnapping is linked to an upstart gang from Tepito, which is home to most of the victims involved.  The Union of Insurgentes, a wealthy and powerful drug gang, is likely to have orchestrated the mass murder as a warning to other gangs trying to seize their territory in Mexico City.  The families of the victims, however, say the teenagers were not involved in drug trafficking, despite some of the family members themselves being involved in gang activity.

Many Mexicans believe that Mexico City’s top law-enforcement officials downplayed the kidnapping and “were at best incompetent in trying to find the bodies.”  Beatriz Loza, the aunt of victim Monserrat Loza, said Saturday that, “The investigation failed. I can’t believe that three months have passed.”  Other relatives to the victims claim that law-enforcement moved slowly in fear of what a legitimate investigation would reveal.

Samuel Gonzalez, a security consultant and former federal anti-drugs prosecutor, stated that,  “The capital’s authorities have the political and moral obligation to quickly figure out what happened in this case, otherwise it will demonstrate their inability (to stop such crimes) and it could foment violence in the city.”  Police presence was increased over the weekend, as many authorities believed a retaliatory attack was likely.

Meanwhile, Mario Ledezma and Ernesto Espinosa Lobo, two of the owners of the club where the victims vanished from, were arrested.  According to witnesses, both Ledezma and Lobo have ties to the Union of Insurgentes.  Ledezma, however, claims that the Insurgentes threatened him, telling him that the gang would sell drugs in the club or he would be killed.  Three other individuals, including a driver and a security guard for the club, have also been arrested.

For further information, please see:

CBS News – Mass kidnapping, beheadings disturb Mexico City – 25 August 2013

CNN – 5 bodies ID’d as those of kidnapped Mexican youths – 25 August 2013

CBC News – Bodies in Mexican mass grave confirmed as kidnap victims – 24 August 2013

Global Post – Mexico City, an oasis tarnished by mass kidnap – 24 August 2013