The gruesome torture and murder of three young women, including a teenager, was a tragedy that shook Argentina to its core. But what amplified the horror, according to authorities, was the chilling detail that the suspected drug traffickers allegedly broadcast their heinous crime live on social media.
Last Friday, the victims — Brenda del Castillo, 20; Morena Verdi, 20; and Lara Gutiérrez, 15 — were reportedly lured to a remote house on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. There, their brutal torture and murder unfolded on a private Instagram livestream, witnessed by an audience of approximately 45 individuals, regional authorities confirmed.
Investigators suspect an international drug cartel orchestrated this horrific act, which officials believe was a calculated message following the alleged theft of a small drug package by one of the victims.
During a Wednesday news conference, Javier Alonso, the Minister of Security for Buenos Aires Province, stated unequivocally: ‘Everything points to a drug-related revenge. We can call it a settling of scores.’
This level of brutality sent shockwaves across Argentina, a country where extreme violence by drug gangs has historically been less common than in neighbors like Mexico. The incident tragically highlights a growing trend among criminal organizations: leveraging social media to broadcast their savagery, terrorizing rivals, silencing journalists, and instilling fear in the wider public.
The last sighting of the three young women was on September 19th, around 9:30 p.m., as they entered a white van in a Buenos Aires suburban neighborhood. Police reports indicate they were then enticed to a house roughly 18 miles away under the false pretense of being paid for sex work.
Mr. Alonso emphasized that the women were ‘tricked into participating in this event,’ revealing a meticulously crafted trap laid by an expansive international criminal network.
Their agonizing ordeal, involving torture and murder, was then streamed live to dozens of viewers on social media later that same night, Mr. Alonso confirmed. Specific details of the horrific acts were not disclosed by authorities.
Meta, the company behind Instagram, has not yet commented on the incident.
This week, the bodies of the victims were discovered buried in plastic bags within a garden. While four suspects have been arrested, investigators suspect that a larger number of individuals are connected to the crime.
Authorities report a growing presence of criminal organizations in Argentina, a country increasingly used as a key transit point for drug smuggling from Bolivia and Peru en route to Europe. This lucrative trade has intensified ruthless competition and violence among rival gangs vying for control and profits.
President Javier Milei, known for his firm law-and-order libertarian stance, has vowed to aggressively combat cartel violence, pledging to prosecute gang members with the full force of anti-terrorism laws.