In a shocking and tragic turn of events, José ‘El Jocha’ Lavariega, a former aspiring mayor turned gang leader, became embroiled in a deadly conflict that ended with the brutal deaths of nine students.
The victims, members of the criminal gang ‘Los Brujos,’ were discovered mutilated, and Lavariega met his own fate the same day they were found.
The Invitation That Led to Tragedy
The ordeal began when Lavariega invited a group of young gang members, mostly students from Tlaxcala, to visit Oaxaca.
According to a government official with knowledge of the case, Lavariega, who owned a small hotel in the region, welcomed his guests by offering them a stay in the area. “They’re friends,” the official said, referring to the students. It wasn’t long, however, before things took a deadly turn.
The students, eager to engage in criminal activity, asked Lavariega if they could steal while in Oaxaca, to which he gave a careless and deadly approval, saying, “There’s no problem.” This permission would lead them down a path of destruction.
The Criminal Line Crossed and the Response
As the students embarked on a series of robberies in the area, they quickly angered local criminal groups.
Oaxaca is home to a complex network of gangs, and one of the most powerful criminal groups in the region, which controls the drug trade aimed at tourists, has an unspoken rule: don’t rob the local population.
The thieves from ‘Los Brujos,’ in particular, crossed this line when they stole $19,000 from a man at a Santander Bank and attempted further robberies in the area.
This triggered a brutal response from the Oaxaca-based cartel, whose members viewed the students’ actions as an unacceptable violation of the region’s unwritten laws.
The Devastating Murder and Kidnapping
On February 27, the situation took an even darker turn when a group of men posing as police officers arrived at Lavariega’s hotel.
They kidnapped two of the students, Brenda Salas and Angie Pérez, and subjected them to horrific abuse.
Salas, the 19-year-old survivor, later recounted the ordeal to authorities, explaining how she and Pérez were taken by force, beaten, and left for dead.
While Salas survived, Pérez, along with the other victims, was discovered dismembered and abandoned in a car the following day.
The other victims, identified as Rubén Ramos, Rolando Evaristo, Uriel Calva, Raúl González, Noemí López, and Lesly Noya, were also brutally murdered.
Their bodies were found mutilated and discarded along a highway, marking the horrific culmination of their involvement with Lavariega’s criminal network.
Investigations and the Role of Corrupt Officers
As the investigation into the gruesome murders unfolded, local officials began to suspect that some of the police officers in Oaxaca may have been involved in the kidnappings and murders.
The Oaxaca State Attorney General’s Office has launched a probe into these possible connections.
Governor Salomón Jara addressed the matter in a press conference, asserting that if the allegations prove true, those responsible would be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
Authorities also began investigating the murder of Lavariega himself, whose body was found with a chilling note reading, “This is what you get for being a thief.”
His brutal execution seems to be a direct response from rival criminal elements.
The fact that Lavariega’s death occurred on the same day as the discovery of the nine victims’ bodies only added to the sense of chaos and retribution within the criminal underworld.
A Community Left in Mourning
As the bodies of the victims were returned to Tlaxcala, a sense of grief and fear swept through the community.
The burial of five victims took place on Wednesday, with another funeral scheduled for Thursday.
The devastating events have left many questioning the depth of corruption within both criminal organizations and law enforcement in Oaxaca.
Authorities continue their investigation, but for now, the families of the victims are left to mourn the loss of their loved ones while hoping for justice.