Thousands of people have taken part in an anti-femicide protest in Buenos Aires, demanding justice for a girl and two young women who were tortured and murdered in a crime that has shocked Argentina.
The brutal killings of 15-year-old Lara Gutierrez and 20-year-olds Morena Verdi and Brenda del Castillo were livestreamed on social media.
Police believe a drug-trafficking gang was responsible, and that the crime was broadcast as a warning to others.
As of Friday, police had arrested five suspects—three men and two women—but the 20-year-old Peruvian man identified as the group's leader remains at large.
Investigators revealed that the victims were lured into a van under the pretense of attending a party on September 19. Authorities suspect it was part of a plan to punish the young women for allegedly violating gang code.
During questioning, one detainee revealed the existence of a video in which a gang leader was heard threatening potential informants: This is what happens to those who steal drugs from me. The bodies of the victims were found buried in a yard in a southern suburb of Buenos Aires just five days after their disappearance.
As protests escalated, relatives of the victims joined a march to Parliament demanding justice. Brenda's father, Leonel del Castillo, emphasized that women must be protected more than ever, while also expressing the pain of identifying his daughter's disfigured body. Antonio del Castillo, grandfather of the cousins, wept as he condemned the brutality of the killings, declaring, You wouldn't do what they did to them to an animal.
In Argentina, a woman is murdered by a man approximately every 36 hours, illustrating the dire state of gender violence in the nation.
