A Mexican court sentences 10 men to 141 years each in a cartel-run recruitment ranch
The discovery earlier this year of the Izaguirre ranch, used by the CJNG since 2021, sparked alarm and fear across the region. The ten men were arrested in September 2024 during an initial raid. They were convicted of the disappearance and murder of three victims and ordered to pay 1.3 million pesos (about $65,000) in restitution to the victims' families.
Five other suspects await trial, including three municipal police officers, a CJNG operative, and Teuchitlan's mayor, José Murguía Santiago. Murguía Santiago was arrested after Mexico's Attorney General revealed that since 2021, the Jalisco state Human Rights Commission had alerted Teuchitlan authorities about the ranch but was ignored.
The case sparked controversy after Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco, a group that searches for missing persons, reported finding numerous charred human bones, clothing, and shoes at the site in March. This highlighted the violence and impunity in cartel-plagued areas and the tragedy of Mexico's 130,000 missing people.
Following the report, it emerged that Jalisco state prosecutors delayed the investigation for several months after the initial raid, when the National Guard intervened and arrested the ten men. One body and two of the later-detained men were found on the ranch. Due to missteps by state authorities, the federal Attorney General's Office took over the case.
In late April, Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero dismissed claims of cremation sites at Rancho Izaguirre, fueling backlash from activists. Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco responded, saying it recovered seventeen sets of charred human bone remains, now in the custody of forensics teams.
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Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- Al Arabiya
A Mexican court sentences 10 men to 141 years each in a cartel-run recruitment ranch
A Mexican court sentenced ten men to 141-year prison terms each for their involvement in a Jalisco ranch used by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) to recruit members, kill, and disappear victims. The discovery earlier this year of the Izaguirre ranch, used by the CJNG since 2021, sparked alarm and fear across the region. The ten men were arrested in September 2024 during an initial raid. They were convicted of the disappearance and murder of three victims and ordered to pay 1.3 million pesos (about $65,000) in restitution to the victims' families. Five other suspects await trial, including three municipal police officers, a CJNG operative, and Teuchitlan's mayor, José Murguía Santiago. Murguía Santiago was arrested after Mexico's Attorney General revealed that since 2021, the Jalisco state Human Rights Commission had alerted Teuchitlan authorities about the ranch but was ignored. The case sparked controversy after Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco, a group that searches for missing persons, reported finding numerous charred human bones, clothing, and shoes at the site in March. This highlighted the violence and impunity in cartel-plagued areas and the tragedy of Mexico's 130,000 missing people. Following the report, it emerged that Jalisco state prosecutors delayed the investigation for several months after the initial raid, when the National Guard intervened and arrested the ten men. One body and two of the later-detained men were found on the ranch. Due to missteps by state authorities, the federal Attorney General's Office took over the case. In late April, Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero dismissed claims of cremation sites at Rancho Izaguirre, fueling backlash from activists. Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco responded, saying it recovered seventeen sets of charred human bone remains, now in the custody of forensics teams.
Arab News
5 days ago
- Arab News
Ten men arrested at Mexico drug cartel ranch found guilty of murder
GUADALAJARA: Ten men arrested at a farm linked to a drug cartel in the Mexican state of Jalisco were found guilty of murder and kidnapping in a high-profile trial that concluded Monday, the prosecutor's office Izaguirre ranch allegedly served as a forced recruitment center for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of the most powerful criminal gangs in the men were found guilty of 'disappearance committed by private individuals' and 'qualified homicide,' according to a statement from the Jalisco prosecutor's men were arrested last September when they exchanged gunfire with police and National Guard Guerreros Buscadores collective, a group dedicated to locating missing relatives, reported in March that hundreds of objects and items of clothing had been found on the same property, allegedly belonging to missing people who had been forced to join the group also stated that they found probable charred human remains and that the site had been a sort of 'extermination center' for the the Attorney General's Office, which carried out the investigation, stated that it did not find evidence to confirm these allegations, although it said the farm served as a criminal training March, about 15 other people, including a mayor and police officers, have been arrested in connection with this case has received significant press coverage in a country where more than 100,000 people have gone missing, most of them since 2006 when the federal government launched a widely criticized anti-drug military operation.
Al Arabiya
5 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Ten men arrested at Mexico drug cartel ranch found guilty of murder
Ten men arrested at a farm linked to a drug cartel in the Mexican state of Jalisco were found guilty of murder and kidnapping in a high-profile trial that concluded Monday, the prosecutor's office said. The Izaguirre ranch allegedly served as a forced recruitment center for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of the most powerful criminal gangs in the country. The men were found guilty of 'disappearance committed by private individuals' and 'qualified homicide,' according to a statement from the Jalisco prosecutor's office. They men were arrested last September when they exchanged gunfire with police and National Guard officers. The Guerreros Buscadores collective, a group dedicated to locating missing relatives, reported in March that hundreds of objects and items of clothing had been found on the same property, allegedly belonging to missing people who had been forced to join the cartel. The group also stated that they found probable charred human remains and that the site had been a sort of 'extermination center' for the CJNG. But the Attorney General's Office, which carried out the investigation, stated that it did not find evidence to confirm these allegations, although it said the farm served as a criminal training center. Since March, about 15 other people, including a mayor and police officers, have been arrested in connection with this site. The case has received significant press coverage in a country where more than 100,000 people have gone missing, most of them since 2006 when the federal government launched a widely criticized anti-drug military operation.
