Los Maniceros massacre
The men's corpses were found scattered across Táchira in Venezuela.
LocationTáchira, Venezuela
Attack type
Kidnapping and murder
Deaths11
Injured1

The Los Maniceros massacre was the 2009 kidnapping in Colombia of twelve members of a Colombian amateur association football team Los Maniceros (The Peanut Men), eleven of whom were later murdered. The dead were aged between 17 and 38.[1]

A single survivor, 19-year-old Manuel Cortez,[1][2] sustained a bullet wound through his neck.[1] The eleven bodies were discovered in several locations across the state of Táchira in Venezuela, according to Venezuela's Vice President Ramón Carrizales.[3] [4] The kidnapped men were mostly Colombian; one was Peruvian and one Venezuelan.[2][5]

Venezuela was on high alert following the incident,[1] with troops in the area ordered to "act forcefully" against any armed Colombian group.[6]

Kidnapping

The men, nutsellers by trade,[7] were kidnapped and thrown into vans on 11 October 2009 in La Tala, Táchira, where they had come for a football match.[2][4] The kidnappers were disguised in black clothing and called the men's names before seizing them from a field on which they had been playing football.[1] Their bodies were discovered on 24 October 2009 with several bullet wounds.[7]

Survivor

Manuel Cortez is the only survivor. Security was increased in fear for the safety of Cortez. A man was arrested after requesting to see him in the hospital and Cortez was quickly placed under guard at a separate military hospital. He said they were all chained by their necks to trees and had spent two weeks in this condition outdoors in the sun.[1]

Suspects

The main suspect is the left-wing National Liberation Army (ELN), with Cortez blaming the group for the massacre.[2][7][8] He said they had been lured into the group's territory by its leader.[citation needed] A motive has not been uncovered.[8]

Reaction

In popular culture

This murder is referenced in Red Dead Redemption 2.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Ian James (2009-10-26). "Venezuela ups border security after 10 slayings". Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  2. ^ a b c d "Bodies found of 10 kidnap victims in Venezuela". Radio Netherlands Worldwide. 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  3. ^ "11th body in massacre on Venezuela border found". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  4. ^ a b "Colombian soccer players found dead in Venezuela". Reuters India. 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  5. ^ "Venezuela blocks Colombian mission to collect bodies". Latin American Herald Tribune. 2009-10-28. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
  6. ^ Ian James (2009-10-25). "Venezuela ups border security after 10 slayings". Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 29, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  7. ^ a b c Will Grant (2009-10-24). "Colombian football team 'killed'". BBC. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  8. ^ a b "Kidnapped local Colombian football team found dead". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  9. ^ "Soccer team slayings fuel Venezuela-Colombia rift". The Washington Times. 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  10. ^ "Ten kidnapped footballers are found shot dead". The Independent. 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  11. ^ "Ten Colombian amateur soccer players killed in Venezuela". MercoPress. 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  12. ^ "Red Dead 2's Most Terrifying Mystery Explained". Game Rant. 2020-09-17. Retrieved 2022-01-05.

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