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, who were 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. However, the group's alleged leader, a 20-year-old Peruvian man, remains at large.
Victims were reportedly lured into a van under the guise of a party invitation on September 19. Investigators indicated this plan was part of a larger strategy to 'punish' them for violating gang code, effectively serving as a warning to others.
Police discovered incriminating video evidence after one of the detainees revealed it during questioning, where a gang leader ominously proclaimed, This is what happens to those who steal drugs from me. Authorities have released a photograph of the alleged mastermind, who is still evading capture.
The bodies of the three victims were discovered buried on Wednesday in the yard of a house in a southern suburb of Buenos Aires, five days after they were reported missing.
On Saturday, relatives of the victims joined a march to Parliament, calling for more comprehensive protection for women. Brenda's father, Leonel del Castillo, expressed how unrecognizable his daughter's body was due to the sustained abuse. Antonio del Castillo, grandfather of the 20-year-old victims, tearfully condemned their killers as bloodthirsty, asserting that their actions were inhumane.
Statistics reveal a grim reality in Argentina, with one woman being killed by a man every 36 hours, according to a femicide monitoring group.
