The 2024 Netflix documentary series Caught in the Web: The Murder Behind Zona Divas offers an in-depth exploration of Mexico’s underground world of escorts, prostitution, and human trafficking. It centers on the harrowing case of women victimized by the Zona Divas website, where escorts and sex workers advertise their services to attract clients. While the site’s owner claims the women participate voluntarily, the docuseries exposes the darker reality behind Zona Divas’ operations.
The series highlights how vulnerable women, often in desperate situations, are exploited and manipulated. It also underscores the justice system’s failures, which frequently leave these victims without protection or recourse. Many of the individuals featured in the documentary choose to remain anonymous, fearing not only retaliation from the criminals involved but also the inadequacies and dangers posed by the very system meant to protect them.
This article contains spoilers.
Caught in the Web: The Murders Behind Zona Divas (2024) Netflix Recap:
Caught in the Web: The Murders Behind Zona Divas Episode 1: “It’s Not Easy Money”
The docuseries opens with an introduction to the Zona Divas website. It is a website where women can pay to advertise their escort services. The agency handles professional photoshoots for models/escorts. Among them is Kenni, who is the face of the website. The news channels are actively reporting tragedies linked to the website. There have been around six deaths of the escort women who died while locked inside the hotel room. The only person who managed to leave evidence behind is Kenni regarding what was going on with the Zona Divas website. An ex-escort, Brenda, recalls how the website worked.
What services does the Zona Divas website provide, and who started it?
In 2010, Brenda was experiencing some issues at home. During this time, Brenda’s hairdresser recommended another friend who flew Brenda to Mexico for escort services. For 77 days, many girls stayed together and eventually became a family. Another woman named Candice chose to hide her identity since Mexico does not have stringent rights for women. In 2015, Candice had financial difficulty, which affected her family.
While looking for jobs, Candice met a girl who connected her with people who could bring her to Mexico. Since one has to pay to get an advertisement on Zona Divas, Candice goes into debt immediately. The escorts also had to pay for food, transportation, and photo shoots. Additionally, the website lists different prices depending on the page where the escort’s photo appears. As a part of the agreement, Candice remembers signing a notarised contract stating that there wouldn’t be any sexual trafficking acts involved and that everything done was voluntary.
According to Brenda, she never faced any issues with her clients, and everyone treated Brenda well. Brenda argues that there weren’t any such websites in Mexico, while some countries had similar websites to get escort services. Since women in strip clubs are under a lot of pressure and make very little money, websites like Zona Divas help these women make some extra cash. Zona Divas originated with conversations between Ignacio Antonio Santoyo Cervantes, alias El Soni, and his former partner El Tony. The idea for Zona Divas came about after El Soni and El Tony conversed with women who worked in the strip clubs.
Why did Wendy go back to work with Zona Divas?
A radio program called El Soni discusses Zona Divas and the tragedies that have occurred because of it. However, El Soni asserts that the women willingly participated in all activities and were not forced to do so. The murders, however, were not related to the Zona Divas website, according to El Soni. Family members of Kenni, Massiel, and Dina remember Kenni being extremely close to their mother.
At one point, Kenni had to bring medicines from abroad as her mother’s health started deteriorating. Because of this, Kenni started doing escort services from the Zona Divas website. Kenni’s family members recall Kenni crying so often that her body would hurt. Yet she had to work through the pain to make sure her mother’s health improved.
Some girls soon realized that the company had not paid rent for their apartment. After doing some math, the girls discovered the hefty amount they were paying for one bunk bed. We hear from Wendy’s mother (another escort), who had to leave Venezuela as the country was going through a food and water crisis. Initially, Wendy never told her mother what work she was doing in Mexico.
One of Wendy’s colleagues and best friend, Daniella, recalls the agency taking away the girl’s passports for three months as per the contract. The girls were not allowed to leave anywhere without the designated driver. Once the three-month contract was over and the girls paid their debt, the company added more charges for things the girls didn’t have to pay. When Daniella and Wendy escaped, the company banned them from working for Zona Divas again.
The girls needed money to return to Venezuela. The only way to work for Zona Divas again was through El Soni. During such situations, El Soni would organize parties where the girls are expected to have unprotected sex, threesomes, and anything to satisfy the sexual fantasies of people. To make money, Daniella and Wendy attended El Soni’s party, where he forced them to have unprotected sex with him.
Meanwhile, Wendy’s mother recalls Wendy not answering her calls. So Wendy’s mother calls the authorities to check on the situation. A woman was found dead in a hotel room after being strangled by someone. When Pedro, from the Consul of Venezuela in Mexico, visited the morgue, he immediately confirmed that the woman who died in the hotel was Wendy.
Caught in the Web: The Murders Behind Zona Divas Episode 2: “You Have a Debt to Pay”
The episode opens with men writing bad reviews for girls on the Zona Divas website. There was a forum on the website where the clients could review the girls based on their looks in real life compared to the ones in the photos. As Brenda remembers, those with a lot of money would book many women and give multiple reviews. That user will automatically become verified. There was supposedly an impartial moderator among the reviewers.
Many of the reviews had made-up information. This moderator seems to be the creator of Zona Divas. Investigator Karla gives an insight into the existence of Zona Divas. In 2001, Divas DotCom was launched, providing a platform for sexual service advertisements. This website operated as a trafficking agency. In 2007, authorities arrested founders El Soni and El Tony. However, they got out of prison and started the Zona Divas website. The first page of the Zona Divas website explicitly states that it is not a trafficking site.
How did Luna get involved with Zona Divas?
From 2010 to 2017, the Zona Divas site was at its peak. This is when the murders of the escorts began. When Luna was 16, she got pregnant and gave birth to a child. In 2017, when Luna was 19 years old, her mother arranged for Luna to fly to Mexico. It was decided that Luna would work in Mexico, caring for children and cleaning people’s houses. When Luna arrived in Mexico, Luna’s mother’s friend, the boss, took away Luna’s passport and informed Luna that she was to be an escort.
When Luna refuses to do the work, the boss tells Luna that she has a debt to pay and needs to be an escort to repay the money. Luna’s boss’s sister, Dani, voluntarily lived in the house where Luna was living. On her first job, Luna refused to do what the client had said. Luckily, the client did not harm Luna, but Luna’s boss was furious. Investigator Karla reveals that these trafficking agencies have people everywhere, including immigration, making it easy to traffic girls into Mexico.
In Candice’s story, Candice escapes from the agency by paying off her debts. This pattern continued as Candice’s roommate repaid her debt and left with Candice. After talking to the phone company, Candice retained her phone number, so she was still getting bookings from Zona Divas, but now she was self-employed. In Luna’s case, Luna managed to win over Dani, who liked Luna. Taking advantage of that, Luna managed to steal the keys and escape. The day Luna left was a national holiday, so the Venezuelan embassy was closed.
Luna visits a church and tells her story to the priest. However, the priest does not help Luna. Thankfully, Luna had a cousin living in the States who helped her by getting her a lawyer. At that time, it was revealed that Luna’s mother knew Luna would be an escort in Mexico. Since Luna has a small child, she traveled back home, took her child away from her mother, and left. Since then, Luna’s mother has never reached out to Luna.
What happened to Genesis?
Meanwhile, Kenni works hard to save up and buy a house and a car. Eventually, she achieves that dream by purchasing a home for her mother. Soon, Keeni is pregnant, but unfortunately, she loses her child. The newborn is in critical condition, and the family cannot afford the ventilator. After recovering from her pregnancy, Kenni heads back to Mexico. The next target is Genesis, another escort worker from Zona Divas.
Growing up, Genesis always wanted to be a star. As an adult, when Genesis revealed the nature of her work to her family, they did not have a choice but to support Genesis. Genesis worked so hard because she didn’t want to leave her young daughter homeless. After working hard, Genesis managed to buy a house that she could pass on to her daughter.
On November 15, 201,7, Genesis’s cousin was supposed to meet him, but he flew elsewhere instead of Queretaro. So Genesis decides to go back to work. During this time, Genesis’s mother tries calling/texting Genesis but does not hear back. However, Genesis’s mother knows Genesis’s location and drives to the hotel. Genesis’s mother finds Genesis’s belongings, including her phone, in the hotel.
When the family visits the morgue to identify the body, they see writing on Genesis’s body as well as bruise marks. The family holds a private funeral as they are afraid of the killer. The next victim is Karen, who was Genesis’s roommate. At the crime scene, a man is caught on CCTV leaving the hotel wearing a biker’s helmet.
Caught in the Web: The Murders Behind Zona Divas Episode 3: “Tears of Blood”
The episode begins with the murder of Karen. The hotel staff describe the killer to be young-looking, riding a motorcycle. Attorney General of Justice Mexico City Edmundo Garrido announces to the press that authorities have arrested Karen’s killer. The alleged murderer, as per the police and Edmundo, is Axel Arena, an actor in Mexico. Edmundo mentions a link between Axel and Karen when talking to the press. It seems both Axel and Karen studied acting together, and this was a crime of passion. Now Axel comes forward to tell his story.
At the time of the murder, Axel was not in town, and there was enough CCTV footage to prove it. The only evidence the police had was Axel’s license plate number. This was not solid evidence as the license plate number was not written clearly at the early stages of the investigation. So the police tried different combinations, and a match was made to Axel’s motorcycle. Because of Axel’s alibi and CCTV footage, authorities released Axel from prison. The police also failed to conduct a preliminary investigation of evidence found on the crime scene and hastily announced that the killer was Axel.
The victim, Karen, is fondly remembered by her mother and friends as independent and lively. In Argentina, Karen organized events, was a model for photographs, and was a dancer. When Karen was in Buenos Aires, she informed her mother that she was going to Mexico with a friend for a job. Upon arriving in Mexico to perform in the club, Karen and her friend were shocked to see the club.
Now, Karen’s friend reaches out to her friend to get them out of this place. Brenda comes into the picture as she helps Karen and her friend escape the strip club. At this time, Karen was unwilling to go back to Argentina. Even Brenda advised Karen to leave, but Karen refused to do so. After Genesis died, Karen started to fear for her own life. Initially, Karen worked in a brothel but could not handle it, so she left to start her brothel.
Who is abusing Kenni?
In Kenni’s case, Kenni came with Andreina’s agency. One of the clients tortured and beat Andreina. The man also gave death threats to Andreina. After this incident, Kenni started to fear for her life. It seems the client knew Andreina had a brothel of her own, and they wanted her to shut it down. After the attack on Andreina, someone blackmailed Kenni to leave with Andreina. Soon after the threats, someone shot Andreina in a university hospital.
A couple of days after Andreina’s murder, someone kills Karen. During this time, Kenni was dating someone and seemed very happy. Kenni learns that her boyfriend is probably a hitman as the days pass. Things got weirder as Kenni’s boyfriend asked Kenni to give a part of her body to prove her love for him. So Kenni asks a hitman to shoot one of her toes, gets amputated, and gives it to her boyfriend.
After all this, Kenni breaks up with the man who asks her to leave Mexico. Kenni did not want to go home broke, so she tried to stay in Mexico to make a little money. This decision came with a price as Kenni’s ex-boyfriend started chatting with her as a client. When Kenni arrived at the hotel, her ex-boyfriend showed up and violently abused her.
Even if Kenni wants to leave Mexico, she must wait until her wounds heal. At the same time, Kenni’s passport has expired. To protect herself, Kenni begs her ex-boyfriend to give her time to leave Mexico. Now, the ex-boyfriend is not willing to let Kenni go. After this, Kenni’s family hasn’t heard from him for many days.
Caught in the Web: The Murders Behind Zona Divas Episode 4: “Kenni Left Evidence”
The episode begins with the murder of Kenni. After being tortured and beaten, Kenni was murdered and dumped in an alley in Mexico. Kenni’s sister recalls being uncomfortable with him attending a party. However, Kenni insisted that she would be okay. After that, the family gets a call about Kenni’s death.
The most challenging part for the family was to inform Kenni’s mother about her daughter’s death. Through journalistic investigation, the anonymous journalist found videos Kenni made showing her injuries. Kenni’s videos and voice messages reveal that her ex-boyfriend is Bryan Mauricio, alias El Pozoles. After Kenni’s death, Zona Divas stated on their website that Kenni only advertised on it voluntarily and hoped she got the benefits from it.
Authorities arrested Guillermo Hans N, alias El Memo, a relative of El Soni, because they linked him to human trafficking. In 2018, Zona Divas voluntarily posted a notice saying they would cease activities. In April 2019, authorities arrested El Soni on charges of human trafficking for sexual exploitation. After an extended period, authorities arrest Genesis’s murderer. The driver gives his statement on what transpired the day Genesis was murdered.
The driver picked up a man called Daniel, who asked him to drive to Puebla to pick up Genesis. From there, they moved to a hotel in Mexico, and the next thing the driver heard was about Genesis’s murder in the same hotel. According to Genesis’s family, Daniel is a hitman. However, who hired Daniel to murder Genesis is unknown.
The cops also find proof of Daniel’s involvement in the murder of Wendy. The escorts were careful with Daniel as he seemed to know every movement of the girls. Furthermore, Daniel also knew people in every hotel the girls would go to. A year after Daniel’s arrest, the court sentences him to 80 years in prison for the murders of Wendy and Genesis.
Caught In The Web: The Murders Behind Zona Divas (2024) ‘Netflix’ Docuseries Ending Explained:
How are all the victims of Zona Divas linked?
An investigative journalist, Antonio, links Zona Divas to a drug cartel in Tepito. In 2015, the kingpin El Jamon, now serving time in prison, contacted Zona Divas management to borrow money. This is where El Pozoles gets involved. El Pozoles knew about the girls in Zona Divas and where they hung out.
In one of these electronic music parties, El Ponzoles meets Kenni. Before Karen’s demise, Kenni warned Karen to be careful with someone as they tried to extort her. After Karen’s death, the escorts believe the killer is someone Karen knew, as escorts don’t meet clients in casual attire. Later, El Ponzoles was arrested for drug trafficking but later released in November 2022.
After Kenni’s death, her family started getting calls from people who claimed to be Kenni’s friends. These people would casually ask about Kenni’s phone. The escorts usually have two phones, one for personal use and the other for work. Through investigation, they discovered that people had tried to destroy evidence on Kenni’s phone. Fortunately, every message, video, and image remained intact.
Once again, in October 2023, El Ponzoles was arrested for possession of large quantities of drugs. Later, El Ponzoles was charged with some disappearances but not for Kenni’s murder. The victims, Kenni, Andreina, Karen, Wendy, and Genesis, were close and had close relations with El Soni. However, El Soni roams freely even to this day.
In the end, justice is not served because El Soni roams free, probably continuing to run prostitution websites as he did before. Many social media users also find a similar website to Zona Divas called La Boutique VIP, and the assumption is that El Soni and the group are running it. Thanks to Kenni, even in death, she helps with the investigation to find the killers and put them behind bars.
Even though Kenni left behind evidence on her phone, El Pozoles has not been charged with Kenni’s murder yet. Meanwhile, Daniel is guilty of murdering Genesis and the other women. However, Daniel is a hitman, and the authorities don’t know who ordered Daniel to do the job. Everyone in prison is from the bottom of the pyramid of the crime racket, and the higher-ups are continuing to commit crimes without any issue.
The troubling part of the docuseries is the police’s incompetency throughout the investigation. They do not do the preliminary tests for the evidence on the crime scene, make hasty decisions like in the case of Axel, and fail to gather evidence to put masterminds like El Soni in prison.
