The bodies of the Colombian singer B King and DJ Regio Clown, reported missing in Mexico since Sept. 16, were identified Monday in the municipality of Cocotitlán, México state.
Their corpses, reportedly tied up and covered by black plastic bags, had been found on Sept. 17. However, they were not identified as the two entertainers until Monday, when family members of the singer, whose given name is Bayron Sánchez, were flown to Mexico to confirm the identification.
The performers’ disappearance had an immediate impact across Latin America, prompting Colombian President Gustavo Petro to request diplomatic assistance from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in the search. Petro’s reaction after receiving the news of B King’s death was strong and political.
“They murdered our youth in [Mexico]. More young people murdered by an anti-drug policy that isn’t an anti-drug-trafficker policy,” he wrote from his X account.
Bayron Sánchez, widely known as B King, was a 31-year-old reggaeton and corrido artist originally from Santander, Colombia. According to the Mexico City Commission for the Search of Persons, Sánchez and his DJ, 35-year-old Jorge Luis Herrera (who goes by Regio Clown), were reportedly heading to a gym in Mexico City’s upscale Polanco neighborhood when they disappeared on Sept. 16.
The pair apparently had recently performed in the northern border state of Sonora, marking Sánchez’s debut concert in Mexico. However, the Sonora Attorney General’s Office reported in a statement, “So far, there is no evidence to support the possibility that they came to sing in the state of Sonora at any time.”
Media reports indicate he and Regio Clown also participated in the “Sin Censura Independence Day” event on Sept. 14 at Electro Lab, a relatively new electronic music club in Mexico City.
Petro took to social media on Sunday to elucidate his concerns. “I request of the President of the United Mexican States, Claudia Sheinbaum, my friend and comrade in struggle since the M19, and of the entire diplomatic corps of Colombia in Mexico, to ensure that the singer Bayron Sánchez and his fellow band member Jorge Herrera appear alive,” Petro posted on X.
“They disappeared after their concert in Sonora, perhaps due to the multinational mafias that are growing on our continent, due to the rampant drug consumption in the U.S. that is also growing, due to the lack of love from its deteriorating society,” added Petro, who attended Sheinbaum’s inauguration last October and then two months later had a meeting with her at the National Palace in Mexico City.
Sheinbaum responded at her Monday morning press conference, clarifying that she had not yet communicated directly with Petro but emphasizing that the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office (FGR) began investigating as soon as a complaint was filed.
According to a statement released by the FGR on Monday evening, “forensic services personnel from the México state Attorney General’s Office (FGJEM) compared the profiles of the missing persons and found matches with two deceased individuals who were located on Sept. 17 in the municipality of Cocotitlán. In light of these facts, the FGJEM is conducting a homicide investigation.”
“On Monday, Sept. 22,” the statement continues, “the relatives of Bayron Sánchez Salazar identified him during a proceeding held at the FGJEM’s Regional Deputy Attorney General’s Office in Tlalnepantla, in San Pedro Barrientos.”
Initial reports from Mexican news outlets have linked the performers’ deaths with La Familia Michoacana, a cartel with a stronghold in central Mexico.
With reports from El Sol de México, El Financiero and Infobae
