> The justification is that if they were taken away, they were surely up to something: that if they were killed, they must have done something. Occam's Razor w

> The justification is that if they were taken away, they were surely up to something: that if they were killed, they must have done something. Occam's Razor would suggest that if 9 people are kidnapped simultaneously, murdered and transported across state lines to complicate the resulting investigation, it's pretty likely that the cartels are involved and they were targeted for a reason, as opposed to being the work of (say) an extremely efficient random solo mass murderer. Of course, it doesn't mean they personally did anything, the cartels can and do regularly kidnap and murder relatives, people in the wrong place at the wrong time etc just to send a message.