By “El Huaso” for Borderland Beat
Ten employees of a silver mine in Concordia, Sinaloa, including engineers and security guards have gone missing since 23 January. Their families claim that they were kidnapped by an armed group.
The silver mine is leased by the Canadian mining firm Vizsla Silver Corp, who confirmed the kidnapping of their ten workers in a press release on their website yesterday. The company mention that “certain activities” have been suspended at the mine site.
The town of Concordia is 45 kilometers east of Mazatlan, a region that is currently violently contested by the Mayos and Chapitos factions of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Further, precious metals also offer dual utility for criminal networks, serving both as a high-value theft target and as an effective vehicle for money laundering.