On Sunday, December 3, 2023, the bodies of five young men, believed to be students at the Latina University of Mexico, were discovered inside a vehicle on a dirt road on the outskirts of Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico.
The region has been known for its ongoing drug cartel violence. The students were reportedly found with gunshot wounds, though this has not been officially confirmed by prosecutors.
This area, which lies near a local university, has become the focus of a high-profile investigation.
Diego Sinhue Rodríguez, the governor of Guanajuato, has committed to an “exhaustive” investigation into these killings.
In June, a major episode involving a drug cartel occurred in Celaya. A car bomb intended for law enforcement exploded and resulted in the death of a National Guard officer. The authorities have attributed the bomb to the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel, a group entangled in a fierce territorial dispute with the Jalisco cartel over the control of Guanajuato.
The discovery of the bodies in the vehicle marks another chapter in the region’s struggle with cartel violence. The authorities have not yet released the identities of the victims, and the motive behind their deaths remains under investigation.
The Santa Rosa de Lima and Jalisco cartels have been embroiled in a bloody conflict for years, contributing to a significant rise in violence and insecurity in the state of Guanajuato.
