Before executing students on film, Mexican cartel forced one of the five victims to decapitate his friend

The presumed remains of the five Mexican college students, ages 19 to 22, who went missing last Friday and were subsequently seen being butchered in a nightmarish video, have been discovered in and around a warehouse in the western state of Jalisco.

When initially asked about the grisly ordeal, which was broadcast on national television, Mexico's leftist president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, joked about being unable to hear reporters, then walked away.

When pressed again about the matter on Thursday, Obrador — who previously thanked President Joe Biden for not securing the American border with "even one meter of wall" — called the situation "very regrettable," then instead spoke at length about baseball, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Five childhood friends were reported missing after attending a fair in Lagos de Moreno, Mexico, on Aug. 11.

Family members later indicated that "there is a high probability" that college students Roberto Olmeda, Diego Lara, Uriel Galvan, Dante Cedillo, and Jaime Martinez were the victims seen battered, bound, and bleeding in the footage, reported the Daily Mail.

Witnesses told Héctor De Mauleón of El Universal that 10 armed men dragged the victims out of their car late last Friday and forced them into a white pickup and van with blacked-out windows.

There is some indication that at least two of the five men had been lured to the fair with the promise of gainful employment as security guards, having previously spoken with an individual who had connections in a call center.

The Daily Mail reported that the individual who had dangled employment opportunities before some of the victims was actually a Jalisco New Generation cartel member.

Cartels routinely list fake job postings, offering competitive salaries and benefits. Applicants unfortunate enough to show up are apparently given the option of death or working for the cartel. Those who choose life often have to kill on command.

According to security analyst David Saucedo Torres, the CNJG has opened multiple call centers and made "Lagos de Moreno a key operational site, specifically for recruiting and training squads of hitmen."

"The five young people who were kidnapped seem by all indications to have been caught in some sort of training program by the Jalisco Cartel, which sets tests for the new recruits — forcing them to carry out assassinations," said Torres, adding that the requirement that one captive kill the others would have been a routine initiation.

The footage broadcast on television reportedly shows one of the captives crushing his friend's head with a brick thrown to him by his off-screen captor. The captive then proceeds to decapitate his brained friend with a knife under orders.

It appears the one captive's brutal compliance didn't save his life.

The Jalisco State Prosecuto'rs Office Thursday said investigators had discovered the charred remains of four decapitated bodies along with four skulls in the western state of Jalisco, home to the terroristic CJNG — whose logo is featured in the gruesome film. The remains were inside a building near where the men were kidnapped and filmed being tortured.

Mexican authorities found a fifth body nearby in Olmeda's torched vehicle.

Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro stated, "What we are seeing here is an act clearly linked to organized crime. ... These are irrational, violent and direct attacks against the stability of Jalisco state, and they demand a reaction from the [federal] government."

The U.S. State Department notes that violent crime is ubiquitous in Mexico and advises Americans not to travel to the following states: Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas.

It further recommends reconsidering travel to the following states: Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, Sonora, and Baja California.

For all but Campeche and Yucatan state, the U.S. federal government recommends that travelers altogether exercise caution when visiting Mexico on account of the rampant crime and/or risk of being kidnapped.

While Americans can avoid Mexico, with a porous southern border, they may find it difficult to avoid its criminal elements.

Just last week, suspected Mexican cartel members equipped with rifles and wearing body armor were seen entering Texas, reported the New York Post.

Another five suspected cartel members were encountered in the same area in June, similarly carrying rifles.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, over 144,000 illegal aliens stole into the nation in the month of June. Well over 1.8 million illegal aliens were encountered crossing the southern border in the eight previous months.

TheBlaze previously reported that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently indicated that he would not rule out using drones as president, stressing he would "use whatever force we need to to defend the country."

He stressed that the cartels are "killing tens of thousands of Americans" as well as trafficking individuals into the U.S. and perpetrating sexual abuse. "It's really the worst of humanity," he said, adding that he "would categorize them as something akin to a foreign terrorist organization."

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