A mining company based in Vancouver has reported that ten of its staff members were kidnapped from a project location in Concordia, a city in the western Mexican state of Sinaloa, where a cartel conflict has been ongoing since 2024. Vizsla Silver, in an online statement, confirmed the abduction and mentioned that details are scarce as the incident is being investigated.
The company stated that Mexican authorities have been informed, and their crisis management and security response teams are actively involved. Operations at the site have been paused following the incident. Vizsla Silver is currently working on the Panuco silver and gold mining project in Sinaloa.
According to local reports, the majority of the kidnapped employees are Mexican citizens. The attorney general’s office in Sinaloa has initiated an inquiry into the abductions in Concordia after receiving a report on January 24. State and federal authorities, including the military, have launched search operations, and a search warrant was executed as part of the investigation.
News outlet Latinus disclosed that armed individuals took the company employees from a rented residence in Concordia on January 23. Global Affairs Canada stated they were aware of the security situation and were closely monitoring developments. The Canadian embassy officials in Mexico are in contact with their Mexican counterparts but have no reports of Canadian citizens involved in the incident.
As of now, the Security and Citizen Protection Secretariat of Mexico has not responded to inquiries. The ongoing internal conflict within the Sinaloa cartel, a prominent international criminal organization, has resulted in numerous casualties and disappearances in the region.
CBC News has attempted to gather more information from Vizsla Silver regarding the incident.
