Authorities have identified the remains of three employees of the Canadian mining firm Vizsla Silver Corp who were kidnapped on Jan. 23 from an employee housing area near La Concordia, located in the mountains about 250 kilometers southeast of the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacán.
The whereabouts of the other seven kidnap victims is still unknown.
🔴La presidenta Claudia Sheinbaum informó que hay detenidos por el caso de los mineros desaparecidos en Sinaloa.
“Estamos cerca de las familias, que no vuelva a pasar”, expresó la presidenta a familiares de los mineros. pic.twitter.com/FWYox76j57
— El Universal (@El_Universal_Mx) February 9, 2026
President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that federal authorities have made “several arrests” in relation to the case, adding that those in custody have been speaking to prosecutors.
The bodies were found over the weekend in an advanced state of decomposition, forcing the authorities to carry out specialized forensic tests to confirm the identities of the victims.
The remains were found in a mass grave in El Verde, a small community north of La Concordia. Authorities have yet to confirm how many human remains were recovered at the site and have declined to provide additional details related to the forensic analysis.
The Madres Buscadoras de Sonora (a collective of mothers searching for their missing loved ones in the neighboring state of Sonora) told the newspaper El Universal newspaper that at least 20 bodies were found in the mass grave. Their efforts to gain access to the morgue in hopes of verifying if their loved ones are among the recovered remains have been unsuccessful thus far.
In a statement released on Monday morning, Vizsla Silver said it had been informed by a number of families that “their relatives, our colleagues, who were taken from the Company’s project site in Concordia, Mexico, have been found deceased.”
Vizsla president and CEO Michael Konnert expressed deep sorrow over the deaths, extending condolences to the victims’ families, colleagues and the entire La Concordia community.
“We are devastated by this outcome and the tragic loss of life,” he said. “Our focus remains on the safe recovery of those who remain missing and on supporting all affected families and our people during this incredibly difficult time.”
The three confirmed victims have been identified as José Ángel Hernández Velez, Ignacio Aurelio Salazar Flores and José Manuel Castañeda Hernández. The first two were engineers from the state of Zacatecas and Castañeda was a geologist from Taxco, Guerrero.
The national mining sector also issued a statement mourning the death of the miners and extending condolences to the victims’ families.
With reports from La Jornada, El Universal, Proceso and Milenio
