State authorities confirmed on Thursday the death of five members of a regional music group in northern Mexico, in a state bordering Texas, who had been reported missing since the weekend.
The bodies of the members of the musical group "Fugitivo" were found in an ejido in the border city of Reynosa, said the state prosecutor of Tamaulipas, Irving Barrios, to the press.
During an operation, state authorities arrested nine people for their alleged connection to the deaths, Barrios indicated. He added that the detainees belong to the faction of "Los Metros" of the Gulf Cartel, which is one of the six Mexican cartels that the United States designated as "foreign terrorist organizations."
The prosecutor stated that authorities will continue the investigations at the discovery site to gather evidence to establish the motive and how the members of the group who disappeared since May 25 were murdered.
The musicians used to perform cumbias and corridos and were dedicated to entertaining parties and popular dances in the region. The last day they communicated with their families was Sunday night to inform that they would attend to fulfill a contract at a social events hall. After that, they were not heard from again.
Their disappearance occurs amid the controversy that has arisen in the country against the popular musical genre known as "narcocorrido," which has led some states to ban it for promoting practices related to drug trafficking and violence.
To counteract the genre —which has young people among its main followers— the government of President Claudia Sheinbaum is promoting a national contest of Mexican songs without violent content.
The families of the artists gathered and reported the case to the police, also requesting support from the residents who took to the streets of Reynosa to protest for the missing individuals.
On Wednesday, the residents closed the international bridge that connects the cities of Reynosa and Pharr, and later that same day, they went to the cathedral of "Our Lady of Guadalupe" to make offerings. The state prosecutor's office has not provided details about the case.
Reynosa is a border city in Mexico that has faced a spiral of violence for years due to the struggles of criminal organizations fighting to control drug and migrant trafficking and the theft of hydrocarbons.
This case adds to others, such as the one in 2018 when armed men kidnapped two members of the musical group "Los norteños de Río Bravo" and whose bodies were found lifeless days later on a federal highway in Tamaulipas.