Authorities in the Mexican border state of Chihuahua have confirmed the discovery of at least 71 bodies in 46 mass graves in a rural area a short distance south of the border with New Mexico. Cartel gunmen were reportedly using the region to dispose of their victims, who remain mostly unidentified.
Over the weekend, the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office confirmed the results of several days of searching in a rural area near Casa Grandes, Chihuahua. According to information first published by El Heraldo de Chihuahua, the discoveries took place in two separate locations where they found 71 bodies and dozens of fragments and body parts that had been buried in 46 different mass graves.
The search began last week shortly after the arrest of an unnamed cartel figure blamed for most of the violence in the region. Working on intelligence from the arrest, authorities were able to locate a cartel killing field in the areas known as Ascencion and El Willis, near the town of Casas Grandes.
El Heraldo de Chihuahua reported that authorities have only been able to identify three of the bodies and are waiting on DNA testing to try to identify the other remains.
The discovery comes as rival criminal organizations, mainly the Juarez Cartel and factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, continue to fight for control of lucrative drug and human trafficking routes into New Mexico and Texas. The fighting has not only led to numerous shootouts between rival gunmen but also to numerous targeted killings and abductions where the victims are never heard from again.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to Mexico City and the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and their original Spanish. This article was written by “J.M. Martinez” from Coahuila.
