Dozens of bodies including women and teenagers have been found in a mass grave in central Mexico which has seen a massive increase in drug cartel-related violence.
The bodies of 59 people were found in the Salvatierra municipality in the state of Guanajuato, where rival cartels of Jalisco Nueva Generación and Santa Rosa de Lima have been competing for territory and control of the lucrative drug trade.
The state of Guanajuato which has about six million inhabitants is considered the most violent in the country since 2018.
It is reportedly the largest discovery of a secret grave in Guanajuato and the bodies include between 10 and 15 women. Of the remainder, most of those are young men including teenagers.
The head of Mexico’s National Commission for the Search of People (CNBP), Karla Quintana, said that the investigation was ongoing and more updates would be made available as they were received.
She said: “So far we have found 59 bodies in various clandestine pits, and there are several other likely further locations. We will carry on until we have finished the work here.”
The latest discovery follows on from the announcement that 17 plastic bags of human remains had been found in the municipality of Irapuato in late September.
The latest discovery follows a tip off some weeks ago resulting in a search starting on 20th October.
The state commissioner for the search of the missing, Hector Díaz Esquerra, said it was the largest finding they had made since the foundation of the commission locally.
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Story By: Juan Mayes, Sub-Editor: Joana Mihajlovska, Agency: Newsflash
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