(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) A gruesome video that has gone viral showed five kidnapped young men in Lagos de Moreno, Mexico, being forced to bludgeon and decapitate one another, with bound, inert bodies lying in the foreground and “Dancing Queen” by ABBA playing in the background.
The video was the reported handiwork of brutal Mexican cartel members, part of an ongoing terror campaign to send messages to any opposition and exert their defiance of law enforcement.
Circula en redes el video en el que uno de los 5 jóvenes desaparecidos en #LagosdeMoreno, Jalisco, es obligado por sicarios a asesinar a sus compañeros con una piedra y decapitarlos. El que cumple tal horrenda misión es Jaime, el del short.https://t.co/063yg1bSjI pic.twitter.com/r4JA7uk7Az
— Leopoldo Pena (@LeopoldoPena8) August 16, 2023
The grisly video, which can be seen here with a warning of its content, has sparked concerns that the message cartels are sending have increasingly been directed toward the U.S., and gained traction after rifle-toting cartel members in body armor were recently captured on video crossing the border but eluding capture.
“The fact that we see heavily-armed cartel members that are coming across the river, across our border unimpeded goes to show you that they have become more powerful,” Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez told Fox News. “They’re more brazen now then ever.”
The video that went viral showcased Olivarez’s point. It showed a young man under life-threatening duress beating a bound man with a hammer and decapitating another victim, with the attacker being the fourth member of the kidnapped group of friends, the Independent Sentinel reported. The body police found inside a burned-out car nearby was probably the fifth group member.
“This video and the information that was made public on a social media platform is now part of the investigation,” Luis Méndez Ruiz, the Jalisco state attorney general, stated.
In the video, it is also possible to see a text written over the image that says “Puro MZ,” which is an apparent reference to El Mayo Zambada, the leader of a faction of the Sinaloa drug cartel. The Sentinel reported that it was likely a cartel member who threw one of the kidnap victims a brick and demanded he use it to bludgeon his friend.
The violent video broke in the wake of an explosive Fox News report earlier this month that showed images of three suspected cartel gunmen with body armor and rifles streaming across the U.S. southern border in the area of Fronton, Texas.
Border Patrol agents, including the agency’s BORTAC tactical unit, were deployed to the area but didn’t find anything. In June, law enforcement arrested five suspected members of the Northeast Cartel in the same area.
“Fronton, TX is a heavy cartel area with significant drug smuggling. Border Patrol sources tell me armed [men] are frequently encountered there,” Fox correspondent Bill Melugin wrote.
Fronton, TX is a heavy cartel area with significant drug smuggling. Border Patrol sources tell me armed gunmen are frequently encountered there. This was another group of suspected cartel gunmen who were arrested there in June. https://t.co/SJ4koq6Fta
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) August 8, 2023
The incidents weren’t isolated cases. A record-high number of terrorists have been seized at the border, with untold more streaming into the country.
“But what is more worrisome is how many people on the terror watch list might be among the 1.5 million known gotaways who have entered under President Biden’s watch,” said Mehlman, who formerly worked for the U.S. House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
Headline USA’s Mark Pellin contributed to this report
