Jaime Castañeda confirmed that he recognized his 43-year-old brother, a geologist, on Sunday through photos shown to him by authorities at the local branch of the federal attorney general in Mazatlán, Sinaloa. The deceased, José Manuel Castañeda Hernández, was an employee of Vizsla Silver Corp., a mining company based in Vancouver. He was one of ten workers, including himself, abducted on January 23 from Concordia, a town situated approximately 50 kilometers to the east of Mazatlán.
Expressing his anguish, Jaime Castañeda mentioned that being in the area was extremely distressing and not a place they wished to be. Originally from Guerrero, José Manuel Castañeda Hernández was a husband and a father to two children, a son aged 14 and a daughter aged 10. Jaime Castañeda expressed the difficulty of witnessing their suffering, emphasizing the lack of justice in the situation.
Additionally, two other employees of Vizsla Silver Corp. from Zacatecas were confirmed deceased by a family member and a federal politician on the same day. The bodies of all three men were discovered by federal authorities close to a rural village named El Verde, about 15 kilometers north of Concordia, in what local media referred to as a mass grave.
The series of events unfolded amidst escalating violence stemming from the ongoing civil war within factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most influential organized crime groups globally. The conflict involves Los Chapitos, loyal to the sons of the incarcerated Joaquín (El Chapo) Guzmán, and La Mayiza, loyal to the son of Ismael (El Mayo) Zambada, El Chapo’s former co-leader in the Sinaloa Cartel.
According to Mexico’s Security and Civilian Protection Secretary Omar Harfuch, there are suspicions that a faction associated with Los Chapitos orchestrated the kidnapping of the mining company employees. The discovery of bodies at the El Verde site was confirmed by the Attorney General’s Office, indicating the resemblance of one body to a missing Vizsla Silver worker.
Vizsla Silver expressed deep sorrow over the loss of life and extended condolences to the families and community of Concordia. Jaime Castañeda revealed encountering several other families at the attorney general’s office who were present to identify bodies recovered from the site. The families of the two employees from Zacatecas were among those involved in the identification process in Mazatlán, as stated by Zacatecas state Attorney General Cristian Paul Camacho.
Ignacio Aurelio Salazar Flores, aged 40, from Zacatecas, was identified as one of the deceased Vizsla Silver employees, confirmed by his wife, Dayanara Nataly Esparza. The second worker from Zacatecas, José Ángel Hernández Vélez, aged 37, was also identified, as reported by Sen. Geovanna Bañuelos. The tragic incidents are suspected to have been a message by the perpetrators, aiming to assert dominance and control in the region, as analyzed by David Mora, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.
The tumultuous situation contributes to the grim statistics, with a significant increase in intentional homicides and missing persons since the eruption of violence between cartel factions in 2024. José Manuel Castañeda Hernández’s demise adds another sorrowful chapter to these distressing figures, leaving a legacy of a dedicated individual with a passion for mining and exploration.
