BUENOS AIRES: Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Buenos Aires on Saturday to demand justice for three young women whose torture and murders were live-streamed on social media.
The victims’ relatives held a banner with their names “Lara, Brenda, Morena” and placards with their images, joined by several leftist groups as they marched to Parliament.
Protesters carried signs reading “It was a narco-feminicide!” and “Our lives are not disposable!” during the march.
The bodies of Morena Verdi and Brenda Del Castillo, cousins aged 20, and 15-year-old Lara Gutierrez were found buried Wednesday in the yard of a house in a southern suburb of Buenos Aires, five days after they went missing.
Officials confirmed the crime, which investigators tied to drug gangs, was perpetrated live on Instagram and watched by 45 members of a private account.
National Security Minister Patricia Bullrich announced the arrest of a fifth suspect on Friday, bringing the total to three men and two women.
The fifth suspect, accused of providing logistical support with a car, was arrested in the Bolivian border city of Villazon after collaboration between the two countries’ police forces.
Investigators said the victims, thinking they were going to a party, were lured into a van allegedly as part of a plan to “punish” them for violating gang code and serving as a warning to others.
Police discovered the video after one of the detainees revealed it under questioning, according to Javier Alonso, security minister for Buenos Aires province.
In the footage, a gang leader is heard saying: “This is what happens to those who steal drugs from me.”
Argentine media are reporting the torturers cut off fingers, pulled out nails, beat and suffocated the victims.
Meta, the parent company of Instagram, disputed that the livestream occurred on its platform.
A spokesperson told AFP: “We have not found any evidence of the livestream taking place on Instagram. Our team continues to cooperate with law enforcement as they investigate this horrific crime.”
Dozens of people accompanied a funeral procession Friday to a cemetery outside Buenos Aires, where a private burial for Verdi and Del Castillo was held.
Gutierrez was laid to rest in a different location. – AFP
