Security Minister: Abducted miners were mistaken for members of a rival cartel faction

Federal Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said Tuesday that 4 radical arrested successful transportation with the abduction of 10 mining institution workers successful Sinaloa past period told authorities that the victims were mistaken for members of a rival cartel faction.

In caller days, authorities located 10 bodies connected a spot successful Concordia, Sinaloa, the aforesaid municipality wherever the employees of Canadian mining institution Vizsla Silver were abducted connected Jan. 23.

Bodies of 3 kidnapped miners recovered successful a wide Sinaloa grave

To date, 5 of the bodies person been identified arsenic belonging to missing miners.

At President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Tuesday greeting property conference, a newsman asked officials whether they had accusation astir the motive of the transgression allegedly committed by members of the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.

“With the archetypal arrests that the service carried out, of 4 radical allegedly liable for the abduction, what they accidental is that [the victims] were mistaken … with members of an opposing group,” García Harfuch said.

“Those are the archetypal statements [of the radical detained]. We’re going to person much accusation and of people we’re going to person much radical arrested,” helium said.

García Harfuch told reporters that the 4 radical arrested are “from the compartment of Los Chapitos,” and noted that that faction of the Sinaloa Cartel is engaged successful a “fight” with the Los Mayos faction of the aforesaid transgression group.

Los Chapitos is controlled by the sons of imprisoned cause lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera. Its long-running conflict with Los Mayos intensified aft the person of that faction, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, was arrested successful the United States successful July 2024 aft helium was allegedly kidnapped and forced onto a U.S.-bound backstage level by Joaquín Guzmán López, 1 of Guzmán Loera’s sons.

The 10 employees of Vizsla Silver went missing past period from a lodging improvement adjacent the company’s silver-gold Panuco task successful Concordia, a municipality that borders the municipality of Mazatlán.

The abducted miners worked with the highly touted Panuca gold-silver task and were taken from their lodging successful adjacent Concordia. (Vizsla-Silver)

Vizsla Silver said successful a connection connected Monday that it had “been informed by a fig of families that their relatives, our colleagues, who were taken from the Company’s task tract successful Concordia, Mexico, person been recovered deceased.”

“We are devastated by this result and the tragic nonaccomplishment of life,” said Michael Konnert, the company’s president and CEO.

“Our deepest condolences are with our colleagues’ families, friends and co-workers, and the full assemblage of Concordia,” helium said.

García Harfuch: Vizsla Silver had not reported acts of extortion oregon threats against employees  

Asked whether authorities had reports of mining companies being extorted oregon their unit being intimidated oregon threatened, García Harfuch responded:

“In this circumstantial case, we haven’t antecedently had a study oregon ailment that they had been extorted oregon that 1 of the members of this institution was bothered by immoderate transgression group. We didn’t person it connected record.”

However, successful April 2025, Vizsla Silver suspended operations astatine its silver-gold task successful Concordia owed to the prevailing information conditions successful the area.

The institution said astatine the clip that “out of an abundance of caution,” it had “temporarily paused tract enactment astatine the Panuco task owed to existent information conditions successful the area.”

Vizsla Silver didn’t specify the quality of the information conditions that prompted it to suspend work, but convulsive transgression is communal successful Sinaloa, 1 of Mexico’s astir unsafe states.

One period and 1 time aft it announced the suspension, the institution said that it had “resumed each tract enactment activities” astatine the Panuco project.

“With information conditions present normalized successful the portion we person resumed our on-site enactment programs astatine Panuco,” Konnert said past May.

With reports from El Universal, La Jornada and Milenio