Grief grows as bodies of kidnapped workers of Canadian mining company identified in Mexico
CBC
Jaime Castañeda said he identified the body of his 43-year-old geologist brother on Sunday by viewing photographs presented to him by officials at the federal attorney general's local headquarters in the coastal Mexican city of Mazatlán, in the northwestern state of Sinaloa.
José Manuel Castañeda Hernández was working for Vancouver-based mining company Vizsla Silver Corp. when he was kidnapped on Jan. 23, along with nine other employees, from Concordia, a municipality that sits about 50 kilometres east of Mazatlán.
"In truth, this has been very painful to be here, in a place where we don't want to be," said Jaime Castañeda, in a telephone interview with CBC News.
José Manuel Castañeda Hernández, originally from the state of Guerrero, was a husband and a father to two children, a 14-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter.
"It's so hard to see … how they suffer," said Jaime Castañeda. "There's no justice with what's happening."
The identities of two other kidnapped Vizsla Silver Corp. workers, from the state of Zacatecas, were also confirmed by a family member and a federal politician on Sunday.
All three men were found dead late last week by federal authorities near a rural village called El Verde, about 15 kilometres north of Concordia.
Their bodies were discovered in what local media have widely described as a mass grave.
The kidnapping and discovery of multiple bodies in the mountainous area around Concordia unfolded against the backdrop of a sudden surge in violence driven by the 18-month civil war between factions of the Sinaloa Cartel — one of the most powerful organized crime groups in the world.
One of the factions, called Los Chapitos, remains loyal to the sons of now-jailed Joaquín (El Chapo) Guzmán. They are fighting a faction known as La Mayiza that is loyal to the son of Ismael (El Mayo) Zambada, who once co-led the Sinaloa Cartel with El Chapo.
Mexico's Security and Civilian Protection Secretary Omar Harfuch has said it's suspected that a cell linked to Los Chapitos was behind the kidnapping of the mining company's employees.
The Attorney General's Office confirmed in a statement Friday that authorities found bodies and human remains at the El Verde site, without specifying a number or using the term mass grave. The statement said that one of the bodies had the "characteristics" of one of the missing Vizsla Silver workers.
"We are devastated by this outcome and the tragic loss of life. Our deepest condolences are with our colleagues' families, friends and co-workers, and the entire community of Concordia," said Vizsla Silver in an emailed statement to CBC News.
"As we grieve, our focus remains on the safe recovery of those who remain missing and on supporting all affected families and our people at this incredibly difficult time."
Buckingham Palace said on Monday it is ready to support any police investigation into King Charles's younger brother after emails suggested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor might have shared confidential British trade documents with Jeffrey Epstein.
Jaime Castañeda said he identified the body of his 43-year-old geologist brother on Sunday by viewing photographs presented to him by officials at the federal attorney general's local headquarters in the coastal Mexican city of Mazatlán, in the northwestern state of Sinaloa.
The eviction of the former prince now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the 30-room mansion he had leased near Windsor Castle came to fruition early this past week.
While the United States has intensified its immigration crackdown and deportation efforts and European countries are closing their borders one after the other, Spain continues to act as an outlier.
Satellite images showing recent activity around two Iranian nuclear sites bombed last year by Israel and the U.S. suggest Iran may be trying to recover materials from the area.
Thousands of creators are deleting TikTok and flocking elsewhere just days after a change in ownership and mounting claims of widespread censorship and shadowbanning, or reduced reach, on the app.
Mexican authorities said Friday that federal forces had found what appeared to be the body of one of 10 employees of a Canadian mining company who were kidnapped three weeks ago from a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.
The treaty between the U.S. and Russia limiting their deployment of strategic nuclear weapons has expired, leaving plenty of questions about what U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin intend to do next.
Ten months after Virginia Giuffre's death by suicide, a newly released email appears to support her assertion that she met and posed for a photograph with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Only Jefferey Epstein and his longtime confidant and girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell have ever been prosecuted in the U.S. in connection with the sexual abuse of underage girls. However, the recent release of millions of documents related to the Epstein files has raised questions about why no one else has been charged.
When it comes to British diplomatic political appointments, Washington has always been a key post, keeping the so-called special relationship running smoothly between the two countries, no matter which U.S. president is in office.
Concern is mounting among political observers and critics of U.S. President Donald Trump that his administration is laying the groundwork to meddle in crucial midterm elections that will determine which party controls Congress.
A five-year-old boy and his father detained by immigration officers in Minnesota and held in Texas have been released following a judge's order. They have returned to Minnesota, according to the office of Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro.