Prosecutors in Jalisco, Mexico say they found 34 bodies in a mass grave
Prosecutors in the western Mexican state of Jalisco said Friday that investigators have found at least 34 bodies in a mass grave discovered earlier this year.
Human remains packed into 169 bags were discovered during excavations at a construction site in the city of Zapopan in February. Construction teams alerted authorities, who launched a forensic investigation. After months of work at the site, forensic experts reported identifying at least 17 bodies and continue working to identify additional victims and analyze the scene.
The gruesome discovery has once again drawn attention to Jalisco, which in March became the center of controversy after collectives searching for missing people found human remains and hundreds of clothing items in a ranch once used by the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel for recruiting and training members. To date, some 15 people have been arrested in connection with the case, including the mayor of Teuchitlán, who was detained last month.
The Rancho Izaguirre case sent chills down the spines of many Mexicans, who for years have endured soaring levels of cartel violence and the forced disappearance of more than 125,000 people. Families searching for their missing loved ones say that discoveries of such sites underscore the depth of violence and impunity in violence-torn regions like Jalisco.
The discovery of the mass grave in Zapopan prompted calls from victims' families and human rights advocates for authorities to better investigate the scene and funnel more resources into the search for missing people.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
13 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Prosecutors in Jalisco, Mexico say they found 34 bodies in a mass grave
Prosecutors in the western Mexican state of Jalisco said Friday that investigators have found at least 34 bodies in a mass grave discovered earlier this year. Human remains packed into 169 bags were discovered during excavations at a construction site in the city of Zapopan in February. Construction teams alerted authorities, who launched a forensic investigation. After months of work at the site, forensic experts reported identifying at least 17 bodies and continue working to identify additional victims and analyze the scene. The gruesome discovery has once again drawn attention to Jalisco, which in March became the center of controversy after collectives searching for missing people found human remains and hundreds of clothing items in a ranch once used by the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel for recruiting and training members. To date, some 15 people have been arrested in connection with the case, including the mayor of Teuchitlán, who was detained last month. The Rancho Izaguirre case sent chills down the spines of many Mexicans, who for years have endured soaring levels of cartel violence and the forced disappearance of more than 125,000 people. Families searching for their missing loved ones say that discoveries of such sites underscore the depth of violence and impunity in violence-torn regions like Jalisco. The discovery of the mass grave in Zapopan prompted calls from victims' families and human rights advocates for authorities to better investigate the scene and funnel more resources into the search for missing people.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Mass shooting in gang-plagued Mexican state leaves 12 dead and more injured
MEXICO CITY: At least 12 people were killed, including a teenager, and more wounded in a Tuesday night shooting in the central Mexican city of Irapuato, authorities said on Wednesday. The attorney general's office in Guanajuato, the violence-plagued state where Irapuato is located, said some 20 others were hospitalized with gunshot wounds. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said earlier on Wednesday that the victims included children, although the attorney general's office later confirmed only one casualty was a minor, aged 17. 'It is very unfortunate what happened. An investigation is under way,' Sheinbaum said. Local media reported the shooting happened during an evening party celebrating a Catholic holiday, the Nativity of John the Baptist. A video circulating on social media showed people dancing in the patio of a housing complex while a band played in the background, before gunfire erupted. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the video. Guanajuato has been for many years one of the most violent regions in the country. On Tuesday, five other people were killed in other parts of the state, according to the attorney general's office.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
Europe rights court condemns France over racial profiling
STRASBOURG: A top European court on Thursday condemned France for failing to protect the rights of a Frenchman who had accused his country's police of racial profiling. The European Court of Human Rights was unable to determine discrimination in the case of five other French plaintiffs. But it found that the government had provided no 'objective and reasonable justification' for police stopping Karim Touil three times in 10 days in the eastern city of Besancon in 2011. The court said it was 'very aware of the difficulties for police officers to decide, very quickly and without necessarily having clear internal instructions, whether they are facing a threat to public order or security.' But in the case of Touil, it presumed 'discriminatory treatment' that the French government was not able to refute. It ordered the French state to pay him 3,000 euros ($3,500). Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International last year said racial profiling was 'widespread throughout the country and deeply rooted in police practices.' HRW said young men and boys perceived as black or Arab, some as young as 10, were often subjected to 'abusive and illegal identity checks.' The rights groups said they had lodged a complaint with the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. France's rights ombudsman in 2017 found that a young person 'perceived as black or Arab' was 20 times more likely to face an identity check than the rest of the population.
