Three members of the Gulf Cartel arrested for the murders of the five members of the Fugitive Group

The Tamaulipas Attorney General's Office announced this Monday the arrest of three people for the kidnapping and murder of five members of the Fugitive Group . The news report highlights the capture of Santos 'N', the Gulf Cartel's operational chief, whom it identifies as a "trusted collaborator" of César Morfín Morfín, alias El Primito , leader of the Los Metros faction and alleged mastermind behind the deaths. The trio joins the arrest of nine other people announced last Thursday by the Attorney General's Office.

The Army, the National Guard, and agents from the state Attorney General's Office made the arrests after searching three properties near the city of Reynosa , the same city where the five members of the musical group disappeared on May 25. "Santos 'N', Raúl 'N', and Jesús Alejandro 'N' were arrested, and two long guns, three handguns, 400 cartridges, three kilos of cocaine, nearly four kilos of methamphetamine, 14 doses of marijuana, 800,000 pesos, and 12 vehicles were seized," the Attorney General's Office reported.

The arrest of Santos 'N', alias M-47, has been announced as a crackdown on the criminal cell accused of kidnapping and murdering the musicians. "Santos 'N' is considered the operational head of the Gulf Cartel, Metros faction, and a trusted collaborator of César 'N', alias El Primito , head of the Metros faction, [...] identified as the possible mastermind behind the illegal deprivation of liberty and execution of five members of the Fugitive Group," the statement reads.

The case of the fugitive group shook the border city after the five musicians went missing at 10 p.m. on May 25. Family members reported that the band had been performing that Sunday at the La Chinita bar, located in the Riberas neighborhood of Rancho Grande, north of Reynosa.

After the performance, Francisco Vázquez (20 years old); Nemesio Durán (40 years old); Livan Solís de la Rosa (27 years old); Víctor Garza (21 years old); and José Francisco Morales (23 years old) were going to give another show in the Riberas del Río neighborhood. Two days later, the group's truck was found six kilometers away. Four days later, the Prosecutor's Office announced the discovery of five charred bodies in a clandestine garbage dump even further away, 12 kilometers away, in the Aquiles Serdán neighborhood.

Relatives refuse to believe they are the bodies of their loved ones until the Prosecutor's Office completes DNA testing in a state mired in violence, where more than 18,500 people have disappeared since 2000. They also hope to learn why the members of a musical group with no apparent ties to organized crime were kidnapped. For now, the Prosecutor's Office will be able to question 12 members of Los Metros.