SwedenLivingWorld world_2_fill WorldBusiness BusinessSports sports-soccer SportsEntertainmentEntertain

Forced passengers to fight to the death – sentenced

Over 100 young men were dragged off buses and given a choice: Work for the drug cartel or fight to the death with clubs. Now, eleven cartel members are being sentenced for the massacre, which took place in 2010-2011.

» Published: 22 August 2024

Forced passengers to fight to the death – sentenced
Photo: Miguel Tovar/AP/TT

It has been described as one of the most horrific chapters in Mexico's drug war.

According to prosecutors, it was members of the now-split drug cartel Los Zetas who began forcing young men, on their way to the Mexican border town of Reynosa, to get off the buses they were traveling on – due to suspicions that a rival cartel was using the buses to send reinforcements to border towns they controlled.

The passengers were interrogated by the cartel and some were offered the chance to live and join the gang – if they proved their worth by fighting other innocent passengers with hammers.

The tragedy was first discovered in 2011 when 48 unmarked graves containing nearly 200 bodies were found in the state of Tamaulipas. Many had had their skulls crushed by hammers, while others were Central American migrants who were killed by Los Zetas during the same period after they refused to join the gang. Some hammers were also found in the graves.

The eleven cartel members were arrested between 2015 and 2017. After trials that have lasted for several years, they are now being sentenced to 50-year prison terms.

Tags
TTT
By TTThis article has been altered and translated by Sweden Herald

More news

So Many Women Are Killed at Home Every Day
1 MIN READ

So Many Women Are Killed at Home Every Day

Robots and Drones over Kursk
1 MIN READ

Robots and Drones over Kursk

Lithuania: Fatal Plane Crash into Residential Building
2 MIN READ

Lithuania: Fatal Plane Crash into Residential Building

Pressure on Scholz: Do as Biden – step down
4 MIN READ

Pressure on Scholz: Do as Biden – step down

Italian town sells houses to anxious Americans
1 MIN READ

Italian town sells houses to anxious Americans

Sources: Ceasefire Nearer in Lebanon
1 MIN READ

Sources: Ceasefire Nearer in Lebanon

Left-Wing Candidate Wins in Uruguay
1 MIN READ

Left-Wing Candidate Wins in Uruguay

Many cows burned to death in Norway
1 MIN READ

Many cows burned to death in Norway

Many dead in bus crash in Brazil
1 MIN READ

Many dead in bus crash in Brazil

Pro-Russian candidate may reach second round in Romania
1 MIN READ

Pro-Russian candidate may reach second round in Romania

Hundreds of new Nazca lines discovered – with AI
1 MIN READ

Hundreds of new Nazca lines discovered – with AI

Israel calls for boycott of Haaretz newspaper
1 MIN READ

Israel calls for boycott of Haaretz newspaper

Erdogan in talks with Putin – wants increased trade
1 MIN READ

Erdogan in talks with Putin – wants increased trade

Monastery investigated – used corpses for meditation
1 MIN READ

Monastery investigated – used corpses for meditation

Paddler got stuck – had to be amputated in the middle of the river
1 MIN READ

Paddler got stuck – had to be amputated in the middle of the river

Zelensky: 800 Russian bombs in a week
1 MIN READ

Zelensky: 800 Russian bombs in a week

More attacks in Beirut after rocket barrage against Israel
3 MIN READ

More attacks in Beirut after rocket barrage against Israel

Hospital Chief in Gaza Injured in Israeli Attack
1 MIN READ

Hospital Chief in Gaza Injured in Israeli Attack

Merkel: Trump was obsessed with getting rid of German cars
1 MIN READ

Merkel: Trump was obsessed with getting rid of German cars

Almost 80,000 fallen Russian soldiers identified
1 MIN READ

Almost 80,000 fallen Russian soldiers identified