Mexico: 17 Bodies Found in Abandoned Sonora Homes Amid Bloody Turf War Between Mexican Drug Cartels

Search volunteers in Mexico discovered more than a dozen bodies buried in the grounds of abandoned houses in Sonora over the weekend.

Prosecutors in the northern border state of Sonora said Sunday that the searchers recovered at least 17 bodies or skeletal remains in the backyards and patios of houses in a low-income housing development, Associated Press reported.

According to Mexico News Daily, the abandoned houses were located in the Urbi Villa del Rey and Urbi Villa del Real neighborhoods at Ciudad Obregón, formerly known as Cajeme, some 250 kilometers south of Hermosillo.

The Sonora Attorney General's Office noted that the victims died between six months and a year before their bodies were discovered.

The office further noted that the skeletal remains would be subjected to forensic examination to determine their identities.

Mexico Finds Skeletal Remains in Sonora Homes Amid Bloody Turf War Between Mexican Drug Cartels

The search was reportedly conducted by collectives "Guerreras Buscadoras de Ciudad Obregón" (Warrior Searchers of Ciudad Obregón) and "Rastreadoras de Ciudad Obregón" (Trackers of Ciudad Obregón).

Rastreadoras member Lira Muñoz said that their group received anonymous calls telling them to search at the site, and she expected that the number of skeletal remains would be higher than 17. Muñoz noted that the volunteers used t-shaped rods in looking for the remains.

"When the tip of the rod comes out [of the ground], there is a smell [when a body is present]... then when the rod is put into the ground again, it sinks because the earth has been removed," Muñoz explained as reported by Mexico News Daily.

According to the outlet, the latest find was the second-highest number of missing people discovered in the area. In 2019, at least 38 people were discovered buried on a property adjacent to Campo 30.

AP reported that although bodies were commonly buried in pits in vacant lots or outside town, some Mexican drug cartels utilize abandoned or rented homes as execution chambers for their captives, suspected rivals, or kidnap victims. They reportedly buried the bodies under the floors or in the yards before abandoning the homes.

According to AP, Sonora has been stuck with "a bloody three-way turf battle" between rival Mexican drug cartels such as the Sinaloa cartel and gangs connected with fugitive drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero.

U.N. Says Impunity Remains a Challenge in Mexico as It Faces Crisis on Disappearance

According to the National Search Commission (CNB) of the Ministry of the Interior, Mexico has a total of 98,885 missing individuals from 1964 to date, and only 35 sentences were recorded for this crime, Infobae reported.

According to AP, most of the victims were believed to have been killed by Mexican drug cartels, and their bodies were burned, dissolved, or dumped into shallow graves.

Guillermo Fernández Maldonado, a representative in Mexico of the UN-DH, said Monday the fight against impunity "constitutes the main challenge" for Mexico on the issue of disappearances.

"It is a persistent challenge not only in terms of missing persons but in many other regulatory areas," he noted.

Luciano Hazan, a member of the Working Group on Impunity, also said Mexico's fight against immunity at this time is essential, as well as search policies and legislative developments.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Anonymous Bodies at America's Deadliest Border Crossing - From VICE