Amid the ongoing violence associated with Mexico’s drug cartels, the tragic case of a 14-year-old boy who was kidnapped along with several family members has emerged. The boy, Ángel Barrera Millán, appeared in a shocking video released by his captors before his death.
Authorities confirmed on Friday that Ángel was among 11 individuals—four minors and seven adults—whose dismembered bodies were discovered in the back of a pickup truck on the side of a highway this week. The event underscores the alarming power of local drug cartels and highlights the ineffective response of government authorities in the Guerrero state, particularly around Chilpancingo and Chilapa.
The family had been traveling to Chilapa on October 21 to sell plastic household items at an open-air market when they were abducted by the Ardillos cartel, which is engaged in a territorial conflict with the rival Tlacos gang. Reports indicate that the family may have been targeted after one member accidentally photographed the wrong person in town.
The discovery of the bodies brings additional grief to the already distressed family. After the initial abduction, four relatives went searching for the missing members on October 27 and were also kidnapped; their fates remain unknown.
Initially, state authorities insisted they were conducting extensive searches for the missing family members, which had expanded to include 17 people. Despite deploying police, soldiers, vehicles, drones, and helicopters, they were unable to locate the individuals until November 6, when the bodies were found left on a key boulevard in Chilpancingo.
This incident is not an isolated case of cartel-related brutality in the region. Just weeks earlier, the newly elected mayor of Chilpancingo, Alejandro Arcos, was murdered and beheaded shortly after assuming office, with his body discovered in a pickup truck.
Rights activists indicate that the Ardillos cartel has solidified control in the mountainous areas of Guerrero, often coercing local residents into compliance. Mexican cartels routinely use horrific tactics, such as dumping bodies publicly and releasing gruesome videos of torture, to instill fear in both rivals and authorities.
