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Mexican authorities said on Sunday they had arrested five men linked to the murders of 10 workers kidnapped from a Vizsla Silver project in Sinaloa state, CBS News reported.
Armed men abducted the workers on January 23 from the silver project run by Vancouver-based Vizsla Silver. All 10 were Mexican nationals, including two engineers and one geologist. They were later found buried in clandestine graves.
Mexico's defense ministry said the suspects belong to a faction of the Sinaloa cartel. The government said the workers were mistaken for members of a rival faction, in a conflict that has involved internal fighting since September 2024. The faction is reportedly controlled by the sons of jailed drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. One of those named is Jesús Abraham, who goes by the alias "Taliban."
The arrests follow an earlier one in June, when authorities detained a man identified as Gabriel N., alias "Gabito," described as a hitman in the case.
Vizsla president and CEO Michael Konnert said the company was "devastated by this outcome" and offered condolences to the families. Jaime Castañeda told CBC News that his brother, José Manuel Castañeda Hernández, 43, was among the dead. He was a husband and the father of two children.
Mexican outlet Forbes México reported that authorities also tie the five detainees to the February 3 kidnapping of four tourists from the State of Mexico in Mazatlán. The report names the group as Los Chapitos and cites Mexico's defense ministry as the source.
CBS notes that Washington has designated the Sinaloa cartel a terrorist organization. In July, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada was sentenced to life in prison in a US court. More than 120,000 people have vanished in Mexico since the 1950s, according to the same report.
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