A haunting message left on the body of a crime boss shot dead in what is believed to be a cartel gangland assassination could link the crime to the horrific slaughter of nine Mexican students who had their hands hacked off by gangsters 300 miles away.
Prominent businessman José Alfredo Lavariega Canseco, alias ‘Jocha’, was found dead in his car in the Canta Rana neighbourhood of Barra Copalita, on the southern coast of Mexico, police announced on Sunday.
On his body was a note written in Spanish that read: ‘This is what you get for being a thief.’
Leaked WhatsApp conversations between a group of students killed in San Jose Miahuatlan, to the north, suggest that Jocha was in touch with them – as local media reports they had carried out a string of robberies at the businessman’s direction.
Mexican outlet NVI Noticias claimed the students were members of the ‘Los Zacapoaxtlas’ criminal organisation who had ‘messed with the wrong person’.
Local media reports that Jocha, a former mayoral candidate, had brought them to the region to ‘carry out criminal activities’ before ‘things went wrong, triggering a conflict with local gangs’.
‘This is what you get for being a thief,’ a message on the body read
Prominent businessman José Alfredo Lavariega Canseco, alias ‘Jocha’
The horrifying remains of the students’ bodies were discovered inside the trunk of an deserted car in San Jose Miahuatlan, on the border of the Mexican states of Puebla and Oaxaca
The remains of nine bodies were discovered this weekend inside the trunk of a deserted car in San Jose Miahuatlan, roughly 175 miles from Mexico City.
Five of the nine were found underneath a blood-soaked tarp, while the remaining four were found contorted inside the trunk in what is believed to be yet another savage cartel killing.
Brenda Salas, 19, narrowly escaped death after being kidnapped, beaten, and abandoned on a highway.
In a shocking twist she told the Tlaxcala State Attorney General's Office that it was in fact agents assigned to the municipality's police department who forced her into a patrol vehicle and kidnapped them.
Initial reports from Mexican outlets suggested the victims were students, originally from Tlaxcala, who had traveled to the beaches in Oaxaca for vacation.
But NVI Noticias reported that the group were criminally involved, citing police reports that at the beginning of February they arrived on Oaxacan coast and 'established their centre of operations to commit robberies of bank account holders, business thefts and looting'.
The outlet cited messages allegedly sent by the students to a 'Zacapoaxtlas' WhatsApp group referencing Jocha.
'We're worth it V., and send it to Jocha... he says he's on his way here... don't make noise,' one was reported to have read.
Another message sent to a WhatsApp group saved as 'Los zacapoaxtlas' read: 'Jocha is talking to me / that they are going to the beach...'
The grisly discovery of the nine bodies came as the supposed leader of the Los Zacapoaxtlas - Jose Alfredo, known as El Jocha - was also shot dead on Sunday.
Five of the nine missing students' remains were found underneath a blood-soaked tarp, while the remaining four were found inside the trunk. Pictured: Onlookers capture the scene unfolding along the side of the high-trafficked Cuacnopalan-Oaxaca highway
Pictured: Authorities search the deserted car in San Jose Miahuatlan containing mutilated bodies
Of the nine students, five were men and four were women, all were believed to be aged 19 to 30 years old, El Financiero reported. Pictured: Jacqueline Ailet Meza Cazares
Authorities have tracked down surveillance footage from February 24 showing the vehicle driving along the Atlixcayotl highway near the town of Atlixco about 90 miles west of where the students' remains were found
The body of El Jocha, who had previously run for a mayoral position in Oaxaca's resort region of Huatulco, was found with a message that read: 'That's what you get for being a thief'.
Cartels are renowned for chopping off the hands of people it sees as thieves, suggesting the murders are all linked and likely carried out by the same group.
Jocha was a 'respected' businessman-turned-politician in the region before his death, according to Imparcial Oaxaca.
He had run for the municipal presidency of Santa María Huatulco with the Partido Encuentro Social (PES) party, but lost out.
Police reported finding his body on Sunday with signs of violence and gunshot wounds.
The Attorney General's Office of the State of Oaxaca (FGEO) has started an investigation into the death.
So far, the motive is unknown, local media reports.
Unearthed texts suggest he may have been in contact with the nine killed in San Jose Miahuatlan.
The crime-riddled country saw the most violent year in its recent history. Pictured: Lesly Noya Trejo
The Puebla State Attorney General's Office is unable to divulge any additional information, citing confidentiality concerns
Cartel violence is rife in Mexico. Victims are often mutilated and have their hands chopped off
NVI Noticias cited local investigations finding that the students 'could be involved' in the robbery of an unnamed individual at a Santander bank in Santa Cruz Huatulco.
The outlet cited alleged WhatsApp messages in which they were said to have discussed taking 401,500 pesos, referencing an article claiming almost half a million had been stolen.
They were also accused of trying to rob a Santander ATM in downtown Huatulco, and trying to rob a shopping centre, both on February 17.
The report suggests they may have called Jocha for help when 'alleged police officers' showed up at their hotel.