Nine of the 10 Vizsla Silver workers kidnapped in Mexico have now been found dead, the Canadian mining company has confirmed.
The miners were abducted in Concordia, a city in the state of Sinaloa, on January 23. According to LatinUS, the men were taken from a house rented by the company, which operates the silver-gold mine known as the Panuco Project.
Investigations into the kidnapping remain ongoing, with Mexican authorities probing the possible involvement of criminal cartels and whether Vizsla Silver employees bear any responsibility for the incident.
The Vancouver-based company confirmed in a statement on April 6 that it remains in contact with the family of the only worker who is still missing.
“This is a devastating outcome, and our heartfelt condolences are with all the families impacted,” Michael Konnert, president and CEO of Vizsla Silver, said. “We stand beside them with continued support as we mourn our colleagues and friends.”
In February, President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office was investigating labor conditions for Vizsla Silver’s miners and whether the company’s employees carry any “responsibility”.
Sheinbaum added that the office is also probing whether any threats or extortion attempts had been made in connection with the kidnappings. Omar García Harfuch, the secretary of security and citizen protection, told reporters in January that a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, known as “Los Chapitos”, could be involved.
“The detainees’ initial statements indicate that the victims were mistaken for members of a rival group,” he said, referring to four suspects.
According to Harfuch, the Chapitos faction is currently fighting with another group known as La Mayiza.
In February, the local attorney general’s office confirmed that a number of bodies had been found in a mass grave located in Concordia, according to Reuters.
At the time, five of the bodies were identified as being from the group of kidnapped workers.
Jaime Castañeda told CBC News that his brother, 43-year-old José Manuel Castañeda Hernández, was one of the men taken.
Jaime said that he identified his brother, who was a father to two children, using photographs presented to him by officials at the attorney general’s office in Mazatlán.
“He was younger than me, and I would watch over him when he was a child. It’s like he was my son – I raised him,” he said, adding that their father had been a miner.
David Mora, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, told the Canadian broadcaster that he travelled to the Concordia area just days before the kidnapping.
At the time, he was told that the Los Chapitos faction had been driven out of the region and that La Mayiza forces had told families that it was safe for them to return.
“Assuming, as the government says, that the group behind the kidnapping is Los Chapitos, I would say then that it’s a show of strength, to send the message that they’re not out of the picture in that part of Sinaloa,” he said.
He added that the company’s connections to Canada could have played a role in the kidnapping, as it “raises the political angle” of the attack.
In a statement obtained by CBC News, Global Affairs Canada said that it was not aware of any Canadian citizens being impacted by the incident.
