Three of the four Guerrero miners who were abducted while on their way home from work March 5 have been found dead.

They were located in a hidden grave Saturday in Mazapa, in the municipality of Eduardo Neri, after families received an anonymous phone call.

The fourth man had been freed earlier. They were all employees of the Canadian firm Goldcorp Inc. and worked at the Los Filos gold mine near Carrizalillo. All showed signs of having been tortured.

Family members appealed to authorities to have the mine provide protection in the area and pay the indemnification due to them.

Originally from Carrizalillo, the families moved to the municipality of Iguala, citing insecurity and environmental pollution as reasons for leaving.

The miners’ bodies were found last Thursday but no one spoke up for fear of reprisals. “Now we want (President) Peña Nieto to be aware of what’s happening in Guerrero and that there be an investigation so their deaths do not go unpunished,” said María Elena Celso Solís, mother of two of the dead miners.

The wife of the third victim said her husband had warned mine representatives that criminals were a constant threat to the workers. “They didn’t answer our calls or anything,” said Gabriela Peña. “We want the company to accept responsibility for our pensions and our children, because they were advised of the risks and never did anything about it.”

Source: Milenio (sp)