How a Mexican Cartel Lured Recruits to "Ranch of Horrors" with Fake Job Ads
CJNG "kill ranch" exposed in Mexico. Recruits allegedly tortured, murdered if they resisted training. 1 Arrested recruiter confessed. Human remains found. Mothers of the disappeared discovered the site.
A blood-chilling confession has blown the lid off what desperate mothers are calling a Mexican cartel's "kill ranch," where recruits for the notorious Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) were allegedly tortured and brutally murdered if they even THOUGHT about quitting.
José Gregorio “N,” a lowlife nicknamed “El Lastra” (The Ballast), who was in charge of dragging fresh meat into the CJNG's ranks, spilled the beans that the Izaguirre ranch in Teuchitlán, Jalisco, was a horrifying training ground. But it wasn't just about learning how to shoot and kill – it was a torture chamber for anyone who didn't have the stomach for the cartel's savage ways, according to his shocking testimony.
While top cop Omar García Harfuch, head of Mexico City's security, played down the "extermination camp" claims in front of President Claudia Sheinbaum, he DID admit the ranch was a training center. But when the Prez herself grilled him, asking point-blank if there were dead bodies, García Harfuch could only offer a weak "We have no knowledge. The Attorney General's Office will determine exactly if there are remains; we have not confirmed it."
Despite the official hemming and hawing, the truth is starting to seep out like blood from a fresh wound. The Jalisco State Attorney General's Office has already confirmed the grim discovery of SIX bone masses in different spots around the ranch. And even the country's top prosecutor, Attorney General Gertz Manero, has acknowledged that human remains were indeed found at the sinister site.
Adding fuel to the fire, García Harfuch himself admitted, "According to the detainee's testimony, they went so far as to take the lives of people who refused to receive the training." So much for just a "training center"!
"El Lastra," who worked directly for a CJNG bigwig known as "El Sapo" (The Toad), was the mastermind behind luring unsuspecting victims into the cartel's clutches. His weapon of choice? Social media. He dangled fake job offers – think "security guard" gigs paying a tempting 4,000 to 12,000 pesos a week – to reel in the desperate and naive.
Once hooked, these poor souls were herded to bus stations and then hauled off to the Izaguirre ranch. Their phones and belongings were snatched away, and they were slapped into tactical gear and boots, ready for a month of brutal indoctrination. Forget calling home – these recruits were completely cut off from the outside world.
The curriculum? Firearm handling and hardcore physical conditioning. Those who showed promise were rewarded with a spot in the cartel's ranks, shipped off to different parts of the country to bolster their numbers.
Moms on A Mission
The horrifying truth about the Izaguirre ranch only came to light thanks to the relentless efforts of mothers searching for their missing children. These brave women, known as "Searching Mothers," bravely stormed the ranch on March 5, declaring it an "extermination camp" after finding what they believed to be human remains.
President Sheinbaum, facing mounting pressure, has now ordered the Attorney General's Office to take over the case, slamming the "many problems" with the state-level investigation. "It is necessary to take over the case now," she declared, demanding a proper investigation into the "violated" site.
"El Lastra's" reign of terror finally came to an end when he was nabbed in Mexico City after trying to lay low. Turns out, this monster was also allegedly behind the kidnapping of two university students back in June. And just days before his capture, he reportedly met with "El Sapo" to get his marching orders to shut down the "training" activities.
From September last year until now, cops have rounded up 49 people linked to the ranch's recruitment activities. But the big question remains: how many innocent lives were snuffed out within those walls?
The full horror of the Izaguirre ranch is still being uncovered, but one thing is clear: the CJNG's brutality knows no bounds, and the desperate search for justice for the missing continues.
