Latest news with #IrvingBarrios
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Five Mexican musicians abducted, murdered by alleged drug cartel
Drug cartel members are suspected of murdering five Mexican band members, who went missing after being hired to perform a concert in a crime-ridden city in the northeast of the country. The Diario de Mexico newspaper said on Thursday that the bodies of the five musicians had been discovered after they went missing on Sunday, and nine suspects were arrested in connection with their abduction and killing. According to authorities, the nine suspects are part of the 'Los Metros' faction of the Gulf Cartel, which operates in the city of Reynosa, in Tamaulipas state, near the United States border. '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,' Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios told a news conference. Tamaulipas is considered one of Mexico's most dangerous states due to the presence of cartel members involved in drug and migrant trafficking, as well as other crimes, including extortion. The announcement of the arrests 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. The musicians were hired to put on a concert on Sunday but arrived to find that the location of their proposed performance was a vacant lot, according to family members who had held a protest urging the authorities to act. Relatives had reported receiving ransom demands for the musicians, who were aged between 20 and 40 years old. Mexican musicians have been targeted previously by cartel members amid rivalry, as some receive payment to compose and perform songs that glorify the exploits of gang leaders. Investigators used video surveillance footage and mobile phone tracking to establish the musicians' last movements, Barrios said. Nine firearms and two vehicles were seized, he said. More than 480,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence and organised crime, and about 120,000 people have gone missing, in Mexico.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Five Mexican musicians abducted, murdered by alleged drug cartel
Drug cartel members are suspected of murdering five Mexican band members, who went missing after being hired to perform a concert in a crime-ridden city in the northeast of the country. The Diario de Mexico newspaper said on Thursday that the bodies of the five musicians had been discovered after they went missing on Sunday, and nine suspects were arrested in connection with their abduction and killing. According to authorities, the nine suspects are part of the 'Los Metros' faction of the Gulf Cartel, which operates in the city of Reynosa, in Tamaulipas state, near the United States border. '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,' Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios told a news conference. Tamaulipas is considered one of Mexico's most dangerous states due to the presence of cartel members involved in drug and migrant trafficking, as well as other crimes, including extortion. The announcement of the arrests 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. The musicians were hired to put on a concert on Sunday but arrived to find that the location of their proposed performance was a vacant lot, according to family members who had held a protest urging the authorities to act. Relatives had reported receiving ransom demands for the musicians, who were aged between 20 and 40 years old. Mexican musicians have been targeted previously by cartel members amid rivalry, as some receive payment to compose and perform songs that glorify the exploits of gang leaders. Investigators used video surveillance footage and mobile phone tracking to establish the musicians' last movements, Barrios said. Nine firearms and two vehicles were seized, he said. More than 480,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence and organised crime, and about 120,000 people have gone missing, in Mexico.
Malay Mail
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Nine cartel suspects held over murder of five Mexican band members in Tamaulipas
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
