MEXICO CITY — Thousands of people gathered in Mexico’s second-largest city Thursday to protest the deaths of three film students who were killed and dissolved in acid in a case that has highlighted the disappearance of the country’s youth amid a vicious drug war. The students were abducted March 19 on the outskirts of Guadalajara after working on a film project for school at a location that authorities say was being watched by members of a cartel. Their disappearance had become emblematic of Mexico’s 35,000 missing people and drew the attention of celebrities, including Oscar-winning Mexican director Guillermo del Toro. Mexicans were horrified by this week’s announcement by prosecutors that they had been killed and their bodies dissolved in acid. His organization estimates that between 30,000 and 35,000 adolescents are “victims of forced recruitment” by cartels and should themselves be considered victims of violence.

Source: National Post April 27, 2018 01:35 UTC