© Platforma MediExamining graves in Guanajuato, Mexico
The remains of 59 bodies have been discovered in clandestine graves in a region of central Mexico that has suffered some of the highest levels of drug violence in recent years, national authorities said on Wednesday.
The grim discovery was made in the
Salvatierra municipality of Guanajuato state, where the homicide rate has surged amid a raging turf war between rival drug cartels.At least 10 of the corpses were women and most of the bodies belonged to very young people, even teenagers, according to Karla Quintana, head of Mexico's National Search Commission.
Alarm raised by relatives of missing persons led to the largest discovery of clandestine graves in Guanajuato, she told a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. "We have more possible positive developments, with which we will continue working here until we have finished the job," she said.
Guanajuato recorded 2,250 homicides between January and August of this year, according to official data, a more than 25% increase over the same period last year.
Comment: Known as the battleground of powerful rival cartels,
turf wars are common to the area:
Guanajuato is one of Mexico's most violent states, with its wealth and extensive energy infrastructure drawing in the attention of criminal gangs. The graves were found in the Barrio de San Juan neighborhood in the city of Salvatierra.
Authorities were notified of the graves' possible location two weeks ago, and state and federal security institutions have been working together for the past eight days.
"We have even more possible positive points, which is why we will continue working," said Karla Quintana, the head of Mexico's National Search Commission. "This place is in a neighborhood. To get there you have to pass homes, you have to pass streets ... the people know."
The site is a vacant lot just under a half-mile (kilometer) from the city's main plaza. It is located next to the Lerma River, on the other side of which is a park.
A team of more than 80 people examined the area in 18-hour daily shifts, and 52 excavations were carried out that eventually led to the discovery of the bodies, according to the search's state commissioner, Hector Diaz.
Guanajuato has been shaken by intensifying violence linked to a turf war between powerful rival cartels Jalisco New Generation and Santa Rosa de Lima.
In July, heavily armed men stormed a drug rehabilitation center in the city of Irapuato and killed 27 people.
According to official figures estimate 293,000 people have been murdered so far, but do not specify how many of the cases are linked to organized crime.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Thursday the situation in Guanajuato is "very difficult." He said the deployment of the National Guard in the state was at least allowing authorities to reach areas that were previously inaccessible due to the sway of organized crime.
R.C.