The nine students found dismembered near a Mexican highway had allegedly been invited down to the region to carry out a spate of petty crimes by a gang-leader friend — who later also showed up dead, according to a report.
José “EL Jocha” Lavariega, a former mayoral candidate turned gangbanger, had told the students to come down to Oaxaca and allegedly gave them the go-ahead to commit robberies before they were found dead last week, the Daily Mail reported, citing an official at the prosecutor’s office probing the slayings.
Authorities haven’t publicly released a motive for students’ murders but the official suggested that the slayings could have been carried out by a local Oaxacan gang in retaliation for the alleged crime spree on their home turf, the outlet said.
“There is another local criminal group that controls the area near the coast of Oaxaca,” the official told the outlet.
“The business model of the criminal group, that is most powerful right now, is the sale of drug dealing to tourists,” the official added. “So, they have an agreement not to commit robberies — because robbery is a crime that affects ordinary citizens.”
The theory emerged as authorities continued to investigate the circumstances surrounding the mass murders after the group’s remains were discovered in the trunk of an abandoned vehicle and underneath a blood-covered tarp near the border of Puebla and Oaxaca.
The bodies of the four women and five men, ages 19 to 30, were found riddled with bullet wounds and showed signs of torture, local outlet El Financiero reported.
A bag with eight pairs of hands was also found at the scene, according to Periodico Central.
The group, who hailed from Tlaxcala, were reported missing Feb. 27 when they traveled to the beaches in Oaxaca for a vacation, authorities said.
The victims have been identified as: Angie Lizeth Perez Garcia, Lesly Noya Trejo, Brenda Mariel Salas Moya, Jacqueline Ailet Meza Cazares, Noemi Yamileth Lopez Moratilla, Raul Emmanuel Gonzalez Lozano, Ruben Antonio and Rolando Armando.
A ninth victim was still yet to be identified.
Lavariega, meanwhile, was found shot dead in his car in Oaxaca on Sunday, local outlets reported. A note was reportedly found alongside his body that read: “This is what you get for being a thief.”
It wasn’t immediately clear if Lavariega’s death was being officially connected to the nine slain students.