The federal government of Mexico has now confirmed the existence of a Gulf Cartel clandestine human incineration site near the Texas border.

Five years after the discovery of the site, the head of Mexico's National Search Commission, Karla Quintana Osuna, confirmed the human incineration site in the area known as La Bartolina in Tamaulipas.

Osuna said the federal and state prosecutors have worked for five years in processing the land, located in Matamoros, about 12 kilometers from Brownsville, Texas, Elefante Blanco reported.

She noted that from 2017 to May 28, more than 500 kilograms of charred bone fragments and ashes had been recovered from the site.

Osuna said the Tamaulipas government initially searched the area in 2017, and after two years, Mexico's Attorney General, along with the National Search Commission, took over the operation.

The Gulf Cartel human incineration site was discovered in April 2016 by elements of the National Defense Secretariat and the State Attorney General's Office.

The said area was allegedly operated by the Gulf Cartel since 2009, according to federal information. The drug cartel members reportedly took the people they abducted to the site, where they tortured and murdered them, and their bodies were then cremated and buried.

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The Discovery of Gulf Cartel's Human Incineration Site

In 2016, Mexican authorities discovered a series of human remains in a covert gravesite less than 100 yards away from the Texas border. Members of the Gulf Cartel reportedly used the site to dispose of bodies.

Earlier, law enforcement officials would not comment on the number of human remains or the conditions they were found in, a 2016 Breitbart News reported. 

Mexican authorities have also not released any official information about the said gravesite. Mass exterminations and incinerating of bodies have been a common practice inside Mexican drug cartels.

The Los Zetas cartel was also reported to have kidnapped and incinerated hundreds of victims from the rural communities in the Mexican border state of Coahuila.

In 2017, neighbors of the Revolucion Obrera neighborhood complained of foul smells and had suspicions that a house was being used to burn bodies.

Authorities arrived at the site and discovered that it was a cartel crematorium, according to a 2017 Breitbart News report. Some of the human remains were only superficially incinerated, while other bodies were mostly turned into charred ashes.

The discovery of the human remains comes amid the rival factions of the Gulf Cartel's fight to control the city. Gulf Cartel kidnapped lookouts, foot soldiers, and street-level dealers. The victims are often tortured and murdered, with their bodies being dumped in a shallow gravesite or are incinerated.

The Gulf Cartel

The Gulf Cartel is considered to be one of the oldest and most powerful criminal groups in Mexico. However, the group has lost territory and influence over the years due to its rivals. Its rivals include its former enforcer wing, which is the Zetas, Insight Crime reported.

During its most powerful term, the drug cartel was led by its kingpin Osiel Cardenas Guillen, who was considered to be the country's most powerful leader.

Meanwhile, the Zetas were considered to be the most feared gang. The cartel's origin started in 1984 when Juan Garcia Abrego took over the drug trafficking business. It was only a small-time marijuana and heroin operation at the time. The Northeast Cartel is now the most important faction of the Zetas.

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Written by: Mary Webber

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