Argentina: Brutal killing of three women sparks massive protests in Buenos Aires

The victims were identified as Morena Verdi, Brenda del Castillo, and 15-year-old Lara Gutierrez. They were tortured and murdered, allegedly by members of a drug-trafficking gang. The killings were reportedly live-streamed on social media.

Bodies found buried

The bodies were discovered buried at a property in a southern suburb of Buenos Aires on Wednesday, five days after the victims went missing, reports said.

National Security Minister Patricia Bullrich told reporters that police had arrested five suspects – three men and two women – but the suspected ringleader, a 20-year-old Peruvian man, remains at large, according to the BBC.

Murders live-streamed

Buenos Aires Province Security Minister Javier Alonso told TV channel TN, as quoted by the Buenos Aires Herald, that the victims had links with a gang in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Flores.

They were lured by someone they trusted to attend an event, Alonso said.

“All that session of murder and torture was transmitted live on social media, and apparently 45 people who are on an Instagram account saw it,” Alonso said.

He added that gang members are believed to have carried out the murders as punishment. The group’s leader reportedly told viewers: “This is what happens to anyone who steals drugs from me,” according to Alonso.

Families demand protection for women

Relatives of the victims joined protests in Buenos Aires, demanding greater protection for women.

"Women must be protected more than ever," Brenda's father, Leonel del Castillo, told reporters at the protest, as quoted by the BBC.

Antonio del Castillo, grandfather of the 20-year-old cousins, broke down in tears, calling the killers “bloodthirsty.”

"You wouldn't do what they did to them to an animal," he told the British media.