Human Remains Found In Mexico

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Authorities in Tijuana, Mexico revealed Wednesday the shocking discovery they made of a mass grave with more than 150 human remains.

Femurs, skulls, arms, dentures and other remains were found a short distance from the surface in a property known as La Gallera, in the Maclovio Rojas neighborhood, after a person arrested months ago revealed the existence of the grave.

Various forensic and police bodies participated in the discovery, including the scientific division of the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR) and the Office of the Deputy Attorney against Organized Crime, the Gendarmerie and the Federal Police team.

"We found many bones and they are complete, this is a semi-bitter victory, but we are happy because it is the hope of many families," said Fernando Ocegueda Flores, president of the United for the Disappeared Association of Baja California, at a press conference. The bones, the activist explained, are still susceptible to DNA tests, necessary to identify the bodies.

When the investigations began, it was feared that the victims could not be identified because, according to reports from various sources in Mexico, the site where the bones were found is one of the places where the fearsome criminal Santiago Meza López operated. The subject, popularly known as "El Pozolero" and imprisoned in Mexico since 2016, would have confessed to having dissolved multiple bodies in acid. Meza López is associated with dangerous organizations such as the Gulf cartel and the Sinaloa cartel.

"The bones are not dissolved in acid," said Ocegueda Flores. “There is the possibility of taking [DNA samples], the decision was made to take the bags [with the remains] to the PGR; yesterday the remains were taken away”.

According to a report by the Iberoamerican University of Mexico City and the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights, between 2007 and 2016 a total of 1,075 clandestine graves with 2,014 bodies have been located in 19 Mexican states such as Guerrero, Jalisco, Chihuahua, Coahuila and Tamaulipas.

In the city of Tijuana alone, there are 1,245 people reported missing between 2006 and 2017, according to estimates by the Uniradioinforma.com chain.