Handcuffed, Blindfolded, in Camouflage: Leaked Video Shows 6 of 7 Kidnapped El Balcón Farmers in Guerrero, 5 Saying They Belong to Los Granados — Their Ejido Says the Clothes Aren’t Theirs
A video leaked on Wednesday night shows 6 of the 7 men still missing from the El Balcón ejido in Ajuchitlán del Progreso, Guerrero, handcuffed, blindfolded and dressed in military-style camouflage, as an unseen captor questions them, Quadratín Guerrero, El Financiero and Proceso reported on Oct. 8, 2026. In the footage, five of the men say they belong to Los Granados, a rival armed group. Their families and the ejido blame La Familia Michoacana for the Sept. 24 kidnapping.
What the video shows
Quadratín described a clip of 4 minutes and 26 seconds; El Financiero described one of 5 minutes and 8 seconds, in three parts. A male voice asks each man his name, where he was taken, what weapons he carried, who his boss is and which cartel he belongs to. Some answer that they work for Los Granados under a man called “El Guayaba” (“La Guayaba” in El Financiero’s account). Near the end, a captor says: “Para que vean que no hay ni un inocente, puro culpable” (“So you can see there isn’t one innocent, all guilty”), Quadratín reported. A final segment shows photos the captors say came from the men’s phones.
All of these statements were made in captivity and under questioning; none of the outlets could verify them.
Families: proof of life, but staged
Relatives identified five of the men, ages 17 to 54, from the ejido’s search notices: among them Fidel Quirino Atanacio, 54, Isidro Brito Arriola, 32, and brothers Eulises, 26, and José Leodanis Medrano López, 24, La Silla Rota and Quadratín reported. Domingo Atanacio Quirino, 50, and Nicolás Atanacio González, 74, were not among those questioned.
The ejido said the clothing “no corresponde con la que llevaban” (“does not match what they wore”) the day they were taken, that the names given contain inconsistencies, and that the men are forestry workers, mezcal makers and farmers, Proceso and El Financiero reported. Priest José Filiberto Velázquez of the Minerva Bello victims’ center told La Silla Rota the questioning was staged under death threats, but added: “Al menos sabemos que cinco sí están con vida” (“At least we know five are alive”).
None of the outlets reported a response from Guerrero prosecutors or federal security officials.
Milenio’s report on the families’ demand for a real search:
Sources
- Quadratín Guerrero (Gabriela Fernández), “En video, 5 de los 7 secuestrados en Guerrero dicen ser de Los Granados,” Oct. 8, 2026
- El Financiero (Rosario García Orozco), “Buscan a campesinos en Guerrero: Exhiben en video a 6 de los 7 pobladores desaparecidos en la sierra,” Oct. 8, 2026
- Proceso (Luis Daniel Nava), “Investigan secuestro de seis campesinos de Guerrero; circula video donde los vinculan a Los Granados,” Oct. 8, 2026
- La Silla Rota (Fernando Miranda), “‘Prueba de vida’: familias identifican en video a 5 de 7 campesinos secuestrados en Guerrero,” Oct. 8, 2026
- Milenio, “Familiares de 7 campesinos secuestrados exigen búsqueda real en Guerrero” (video), Oct. 7, 2026
- Photos: Eduardo Yener Santos/Quadratín Guerrero, via Quadratín
Reported Oct. 8, 2026, from the outlets above. The Los Granados claims come from captives speaking under duress in a video released by their captors; the La Familia Michoacana link comes from residents and the ejido. Authorities have not publicly confirmed the video’s authenticity, named a suspect group or reported arrests. This site is not publishing images from the video.