Grief grows as our bodies of kidnapped employees of Canadian mining firm recognized in Mexico

[ad_1] Jaime Castañeda mentioned he recognized the physique of his 43-year-old geologist brother on Sunday by viewing pictures introduced to him by officers on the federal legal professional normal's native headquarters within the coastal Mexican metropolis of Mazatlán, within the northwestern state of Sinaloa.

José Manuel Castañeda Hernández was working for Vancouver-based mining firm Vizsla Silver Corp. when he was kidnapped on Jan. 23, together with 9 different staff, from Concordia, a municipality that sits about 50 kilometres east of Mazatlán.

"In reality, this has been very painful to be right here, in a spot the place we do not wish to be," mentioned Jaime Castañeda, in a phone interview with CBC Information.

José Manuel Castañeda Hernández, initially from the state of Guerrero, was a husband and a father to 2 youngsters, a 14-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter.

"It is so exhausting to see … how they undergo," mentioned Jaime Castañeda. "There is not any justice with what's taking place."

The identities of two different kidnapped Vizsla Silver Corp. employees, from the state of Zacatecas, have been additionally confirmed by a member of the family and a federal politician on Sunday.

All three males have been discovered useless late final week by federal authorities close to a rural village referred to as El Verde, about 15 kilometres north of Concordia.

Their our bodies have been found in what native media have extensively described as a mass grave.

The kidnapping and discovery of a number of our bodies within the mountainous space round Concordia unfolded in opposition to the backdrop of a sudden surge in violence pushed by the 18-month civil struggle between factions of the Sinaloa Cartel — one of the vital highly effective organized crime teams on the earth.

One of many factions, referred to as Los Chapitos, stays loyal to the sons of now-jailed Joaquín (El Chapo) Guzmán. They're combating a faction referred to as La Mayiza that's loyal to the son of Ismael (El Mayo) Zambada, who as soon as co-led the Sinaloa Cartel with El Chapo.

Mexico's Safety and Civilian Safety Secretary Omar Harfuch has mentioned it is suspected {that a} cell linked to Los Chapitos was behind the kidnapping of the mining firm's staff.

<img loading="lazy" alt="Soldiers with guns on pickup trucks." srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/1f41b21f-b687-424e-91eb-e08428dc31aa,1770644598623/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%2824%2C8%2C987%2C552%29%3BResize%3D796 796w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/1f41b21f-b687-424e-91eb-e08428dc31aa,1770644598623/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%2824%2C8%2C987%2C552%29%3BResize%3D1083 1083w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/1f41b21f-b687-424e-91eb-e08428dc31aa,1770644598623/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%2824%2C8%2C987%2C552%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) calc(100vw - 32px),730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/1f41b21f-b687-424e-91eb-e08428dc31aa,1770644598623/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%2824%2C8%2C987%2C552%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.7880434782608696" data-cy="image-img"/> Closely armed Mexican troops patrol close to an space Sunday the place authorities say our bodies and human stays have been discovered close to El Verde, Sinaloa. (Heriberto Luzanilla/CBC) The Lawyer Normal's Workplace confirmed in an announcement Friday that authorities discovered our bodies and human stays on the El Verde website, with out specifying a quantity or utilizing the time period mass grave. The assertion mentioned that one of many our bodies had the "traits" of one of many lacking Vizsla Silver employees.

"We're devastated by this consequence and the tragic lack of life. Our deepest condolences are with our colleagues' households, associates and associates, and the complete group of Concordia," mentioned Vizsla Silver in an emailed assertion to CBC Information.

"As we grieve, our focus stays on the secure restoration of those that stay lacking and on supporting all affected households and our folks at this extremely tough time."

Jaime Castañeda mentioned that he met no less than seven different households on the federal legal professional normal's native headquarters who have been there to establish our bodies taken from the location.

The households of two Vizsla Silver staff from the state of Zacatecas have been amongst these requested to establish our bodies in Mazatlán, mentioned Zacatecas state Lawyer Normal Cristian Paul Camacho.

"We're in communication with each households … and one of many households simply advised us that they're already within the means of finishing up the corresponding identification procedures," mentioned Camacho, in a phone interview with CBC Information.

<img loading="lazy" alt="A missing persons poster" srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/33e641c3-90ff-4fc6-a6c4-c7aec73a057c,1770644659922/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%2825%2C18%2C1119%2C1233%29%3BResize%3D796 796w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/33e641c3-90ff-4fc6-a6c4-c7aec73a057c,1770644659922/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%2825%2C18%2C1119%2C1233%29%3BResize%3D1083 1083w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/33e641c3-90ff-4fc6-a6c4-c7aec73a057c,1770644659922/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%2825%2C18%2C1119%2C1233%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) calc(100vw - 32px),730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/33e641c3-90ff-4fc6-a6c4-c7aec73a057c,1770644659922/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%2825%2C18%2C1119%2C1233%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:0.9075425790754258" data-cy="image-img"/> Ignacio Aurelio Salazar Flores, 40, was recognized as one of many Vizsla Silver's staff whose physique was discovered final week close to El Verde, Sinaloa. (Handout/Sinaloa state authorities) Ignacio Aurelio Salazar Flores, 40, from Zacatecas, was one of many staff whose physique had been recognized, his spouse Dayanara Nataly Esparza confirmed Sunday.

Esparza advised CBC Information in a textual content message that it was "the hardest day" of her life, including she was too distraught to talk.

The identification of the second employee from Zacatecas, José Ángel Hernández Vélez, 37, was confirmed in a social media publish by Sen. Geovanna Bañuelos, who's from the identical state and a member of the government-aligned Labour Social gathering.

Canadian mining agency Capstone Copper additionally posted a discover of condolences for Hernández Vélez.

<img loading="lazy" alt="A young man in organge work clothes" srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/71d5192f-c430-4d98-8d32-21e460b8fffb,1770642891134/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%2823%2C0%2C798%2C795%29%3BResize%3D796 796w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/71d5192f-c430-4d98-8d32-21e460b8fffb,1770642891134/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%2823%2C0%2C798%2C795%29%3BResize%3D1083 1083w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/71d5192f-c430-4d98-8d32-21e460b8fffb,1770642891134/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%2823%2C0%2C798%2C795%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) calc(100vw - 32px),730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/71d5192f-c430-4d98-8d32-21e460b8fffb,1770642891134/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%2823%2C0%2C798%2C795%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.0037735849056604" data-cy="image-img"/> The physique of José Ángel Hernández Vélez, 37, was recognized by household after being discovered final week close to the village of El Verde, Sinaloa. (Geovanna Bañuelos/X) Kidnappings could also be a message: analyst David Mora, a senior analyst with the Worldwide Disaster Group, travelled to the Concordia space in the midst of January, days earlier than the kidnapping, to collect testimonies from households who had been displaced by violence and have been returning residence.

Mora mentioned he was advised that Los Chapitos had been pushed out of the area and that La Mayiza faction had advised the households it was secure to return.

"Assuming, as the federal government says, that the group behind the kidnapping is Los Chapitos, I'd say then that it is a present of energy, to ship the message that they don't seem to be out of the image in that a part of Sinaloa," mentioned Mora.

Concentrating on employees linked to a international firm, like Vizsla Silver, might have been a part of their calculations, he mentioned.

"These folks have connections to a Canadian firm and this space may be very strategic due to the minerals and likewise the logging trade," he mentioned. "It raises the political angle of this particular assault."

<img loading="lazy" alt="An empty street with mountains in the distance." srcset="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/a689ae5c-cf61-49f4-96d9-6d56410269ee,1770644677523/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%2863%2C18%2C1172%2C648%29%3BResize%3D796 796w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/a689ae5c-cf61-49f4-96d9-6d56410269ee,1770644677523/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%2863%2C18%2C1172%2C648%29%3BResize%3D1083 1083w,https://i.cbc.ca/ais/a689ae5c-cf61-49f4-96d9-6d56410269ee,1770644677523/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%2863%2C18%2C1172%2C648%29%3BResize%3D1280 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 762px) calc(100vw - 32px),730px" src="https://i.cbc.ca/ais/a689ae5c-cf61-49f4-96d9-6d56410269ee,1770644677523/full/max/0/default.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%2863%2C18%2C1172%2C648%29%3B" style="aspect-ratio:1.808641975308642" data-cy="image-img"/> The empty streets of Concordia, within the Mexican state of Sinaloa, are proven on Sunday. (Heriberto Luzanilla/CBC) There have been 2,776 instances of intentional homicides and three,290 folks have been reported lacking for the reason that struggle between the factions exploded in 2024, in line with statistics compiled by the Noroeste information group in Sinaloa.

Now José Manuel Castañeda Hernández has moved columns on this grim graph of statistics.

"He liked mining, he liked being out within the camps, doing the exploration," mentioned Jaime Castañeda. "And this occupation, it got here down the generations, as a result of our father was additionally a miner."

Castañeda mentioned he final noticed his brother on Jan. 7 after he dropped him off on the bus station within the metropolis of Cuernavaca, situated simply south of Mexico Metropolis. His brother wanted to take the bus to the capital so he might catch a flight to Mazatlán and return to work.

"He was youthful than me and I'd watch over him when he was a toddler. It is like he was my son — I raised him," he mentioned.

"I am left with a reminiscence of a very good one who at all times helped folks. He at all times advised the reality. All the time, at all times, at all times. His complete life, he was like that. Noble."