Remains of 32 people found in Mexico's Guanajuato state
The remains were in "fragmented and complex" condition, it said, adding that this had complicated the identification process.
Local media reports said investigators had found body parts in plastic bags.
Relatives of missing persons, who belong to a collective called "Hasta encontrarte" ("Until I find you"), visited the site Monday, hoping for news of their loved ones or fresh evidence.
"We hope to find our loved ones," a woman who requested anonymity for safety reasons told AFP.
"It's been many years and we still know nothing. When these mass graves are found, we want to be present."
Guanajuato in central Mexico is a thriving industrial hub and home to several popular tourist destinations, but also the country's deadliest state due to gang turf wars, according to official homicide statistics.
In June, 11 people were killed and about 20 others injured in a shooting targeting a neighborhood party in Irapuato.
A month earlier, 17 bodies were found by investigators in an abandoned house in the same city.
Much of the violence in Guanajuato is linked to conflict between the Santa Rosa de Lima gang and the Jalisco New Generation cartel, one of the most powerful in the Latin American nation.
Guanajuato recorded more than 3,100 murders last year, the most of any Mexican state, accounting for 10.5 percent of cases nationwide, according to official figures.
It also had about 3,600 missing persons cases, out of more than 120,000 countrywide.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
2 days ago
- France 24
Mexico extradites 26 cartel bosses to US amid pressure to combat fentanyl smuggling
Justice officials said Tuesday that Mexico has sent 26 wanted fugitives to the United States, including alleged Mexican drug cartel kingpins, amid pressure to crack down on cross-border fentanyl smuggling. "These fugitives are collectively alleged to have imported into the United States tonnage quantities of dangerous drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin," the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a statement. US officials released a list of those extradited and currently in their custody, saying they are fugitives wanted for "violent and serious crimes" including drug trafficking, kidnapping, human smuggling and the murder of a Los Angeles sheriff's deputy in 2008, among other crimes. US Attorney General Pam Bondi called the transfer "the latest example of the Trump administration's historic efforts to dismantle cartels and foreign terrorist organizations." The transfer was made "at the solicitation of the US Department of Justice," which "agreed not to seek the death penalty for the prisoners in its country," according to a joint statement from the Attorney General of Mexico and Mexico's Secretariat of Security and Civilian Safety. The US embassy in Mexico said in a statement that kingpins from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel are among those who were extradited -- both groups which were designated as terrorist organizations by the US in February. 'Common enemies' "These fugitives will now face justice in US courts, and the citizens of both of our nations will be safer from these common enemies," US Ambassador Ronald Johnson said in a statement, praising the government of Mexico "for demonstrating resolve in the face of organized crime." Among the drug dealers sent to the United States in Tuesday's transfer was Los Cuinis leader Abigael Gonzalez Valencia, whose cartel is accused of trafficking tons of cocaine from South America through Mexico and into the United States. It also included the Sinaloa Cartel's Leobardo Garcia Corrales, who is accused of trafficking fentanyl into the United States in exchange for weapons "such as AK-47s, grenades and submachine guns," US DOJ officials said. Abdul Karim Conteh is alleged to have smuggled thousands of migrants through Mexico from around the world -- including Iran, Afghanistan, Somalia, Kazakhstan and other countries -- "by various surreptitious and unlawful means, including the use of ladders and tunnels" to cross the US border, officials said. Another transferred fugitive is Roberto Salazar, who is "wanted in connection with the murder of Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Juan Escalante," who was killed while leaving his home in 2008, the DOJ said. All those transferred face a maximum sentence of life in prison, except Conteh, who faces a maximum of 45 years, if convicted. The handover comes as the North American neighbors negotiate a security agreement that addresses drugs and arms trafficking. The prisoners were moved under an abbreviated legal procedure, authorities said, which excludes some measures provided in traditional extradition cases. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum 's government defended the move, saying some drug lords regain freedom through judicial corruption. The transfer is the second such instance since Trump returned to the White House in January. In late February, Mexico transferred 29 accused narcotraffickers to the United States, including prominent cartel kingpin Rafael Caro Quintero, who was accused of kidnapping and killing DEA special agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in 1985. The US currently has other kingpins in custody, including Sinaloa Cartel founders Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who received a life sentence, and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who is awaiting trial. Sheinbaum has pledged to collaborate with Washington on tackling drug trafficking, while rejecting any "invasion" of her country's sovereignty.
France 24
6 days ago
- France 24
Mexico discounts risk of 'invasion' after Trump order to target cartels
"There will be no invasion of Mexico," Sheinbaum said after The New York Times reported that Trump had secretly signed a directive to use military force against cartels that his administration has declared terrorist organizations. "We were informed that this executive order was coming and that it had nothing to do with the participation of any military personnel or any institution in our territory," Sheinbaum told her regular morning conference. The Mexican foreign ministry said later that Mexico "would not accept the participation of US military forces on our territory." The remarks followed a statement released by the US embassy in Mexico, which said both countries would use "every tool at our disposal to protect our peoples" from drug trafficking groups. US ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said on X that the countries "face a common enemy: the violent criminal cartels." The Pentagon referred questions on the issue to the White House, which did not immediately confirm the order. The Times said Trump's order provided an official basis for military operations at sea or on foreign soil against the cartels. In February, his administration designated eight drug trafficking groups as terrorist organizations. Six are Mexican, one is Venezuelan and the eighth originates in El Salvador. Two weeks ago, his administration added another Venezuelan gang, the Cartel of the Suns, which has shipped hundreds of tons of narcotics into the United States over two decades. On Thursday, the US Justice Department doubled to $50 million its bounty on Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, whom it accuses of leading the Cartel of the Suns. Venezuela has dismissed the allegations, with Foreign Minister Yvan Gil calling it "the most ridiculous smokescreen we have ever seen." Sheinbaum has made strenuous efforts to show Trump she is acting against her country's cartels, whom he accuses of flooding the United States with drugs, particularly fentanyl. "We are cooperating, we are collaborating, but there will be no invasion. That is absolutely ruled out," she said. She said that in "every call" with US officials, Mexico insisted that this "is not permitted." The 63-year-old has been dubbed the "Trump whisperer" for repeatedly securing reprieves from his threats of stiff tariffs over the smuggling of drugs and migrants across their shared border.
France 24
7 days ago
- France 24
Trump orders Pentagon to target foreign drug cartels
Trump is moving to target Latin American drug cartels with the military, US media said Friday, after Washington designated several narcotics trafficking groups as "terrorist" organisations earlier this year. The New York Times reported that Trump has directed the Pentagon to begin using military force against cartels that were deemed terrorist organisations, while the Wall Street Journal said the president ordered the Defense Department to prepare options to do so. The Journal said the use of special forces and the provision of intelligence support were among the options under discussion, and that any action would be coordinated with foreign partners. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum insisted following the reports on Friday that there would be "no invasion of Mexico". Trump vowed in March to "wage war" on Mexico's drug cartels, which he accused of rape and murder as well as "posing a grave threat" to national security. The month before, the United States designated Venezuela 's Tren de Aragua, Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel and six other drug trafficking groups with Latin American roots as "global terrorist" organisations. Trump's administration has since added another Venezuelan gang, the Cartel of the Suns, which has shipped hundreds of tons of narcotics into the United States over two decades. Trump signed an executive order on January 20, his first day back in the White House, creating a process for such designations, saying the cartels "constitute a national-security threat beyond that posed by traditional organised crime."
