Mexican authorities uncovered 59 bodies in a mass burial site in one of the Central American nation’s most violent cartel corners — and more are expected to surface, according to a report.
A search group said Wednesday that the grisly discovery in the state of Guanajuato came after relatives of missing persons tipped off government officials, National Search Commission officials said, CBS News said in a report.
“The vast majority of the bodies, in which there is still some tissue or other sign, would appear to be young people, very young, possibly teenagers,” said Karla Quintana, who heads the commission, calling it “a sad and terrible discovery.”
The bodies were dug up from 52 pits on the outskirts of the city of Salvatierra, a region so plagued by wars between rival drug cartels that the Mexican Army and National Guard were required to provide security during the excavations, CBS said.
Guanajuato leads Mexico in homicides, due in large part to turf battles between the Jalisco drug cartel and armed local gangs backed by the rival Sinaloa cartel.
In July, cartel gunmen raided a drug rehabilitation center in the state and massacred 24 people, the outlet said.
Last month, authorities found bone fragments in Guanajuato, prompting relatives of suspected cartel victims to suggest that their missing family members could be buried at the site.
“If our family is not found then we will find others that are missing,” one relative said. “It’s a feeling of satisfaction so that they can return home and for the family to have peace.”
Another relative said locals referred to the North-Central Mexican city as “a cemetery.”
Meanwhile, authorities said they expect to find more bodies as the digging continues.