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 Morena Verdi and Brenda del Castillo, both 20, 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 a 20-year-old Peruvian man, believed to be the group's leader, remains at large.
The victims were lured into a van under the false pretense of going to a party on September 19, according to investigators. Authorities indicated that this was part of a plan to 'punish' the young women for violating gang codes, serving as a warning to others.
After one detainee revealed a video during questioning, it became clear that the gang leader had captured the violent act on tape, proclaiming, 'This is what happens to those who steal drugs from me.'
The bodies of the three victims were located on Wednesday in a suburban home in Buenos Aires, five days after they went missing.
In a march to Parliament on Saturday, family members of the victims expressed their anguish and anger, pleading for heightened protections for women. Notably, Brenda's father lamented, 'Women must be protected more than ever,' while highlighting the extreme trauma suffered by the victims.
According to a femicide monitoring group, a woman is murdered by a man approximately every 36 hours in Argentina—a grim statistic that underscores the urgent need for societal change.
