Mexican film students killed, dissolved in acid

Mexican prosecutors said members of a drug cartel believed the three students to be from a rival gang when they kidnapped and killed them. File Photo by Takamex/Shutterstock

By Danielle Haynes, UPI

A Mexican drug gang killed three film students and partially dissolved their bodies in acid more than a month after the men disappeared, prosecutors said.

Mexican officials said Jalisco New Generation Cartel members mistook Javier Aceves, 25, Marco García, 20, and Daniel Díaz, 20, as members of a rival drug cartel when they kidnapped the men March 19.

The three students were filming at a house in the Guadalajara suburb of Tonalá in Jalisco state when they were kidnapped. The residence where they were working was provided by the aunt of one of the men, but it was owned by a drug cartel.

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel members were disguised as police officers and kidnapped the three students when their vehicle broke down nearby.

"Without knowing it, the students were in a place of great risk, watched by a cell of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel," the state attorney general's office said Monday.

Prosecutors said they arrested two people in connection with the deaths and believe a total of eight people were involved. Genetic testing confirmed the identity of the remains of the three students -- they were found on a farm.