Mexico City Searchers Find Massive Clandestine Grave Site Used by Drug Cartels as Crematorium

Volunteer searchers have found yet another clandestine grave site in Mexico, this time on the outskirts of Mexico City. However, this one is considered more disturbing than usual as it was also used as a clandestine crematorium by the criminal organization using it.

Mexico's many drug cartels have thousands of these clandestine graves all over the country, using them to dump the bodies of their victims, from rival gang members to police to innocent civilians. This one outside of Mexico City was filled with not just human remains but also ID cards and even children's notebooks.

The grave site was found by a group of volunteers searching for missing loved ones as Mexico has hundreds of thousands of missing people, many of whom may have been caught in the crossfire of Mexico's deadly War on Drugs. Ceci Flores led the group that found the clandestine grave site and said that she and her team found the bones around a charred pit on the southern outskirts of the Mexican capital.

The volunteer search group was walking through a field of weeds and dry earth when they found the charred pit, which they believe was used to burn bodies and evidence. These groups are known as "madres buscadoras" or "searching mothers," and they band together to at least look for the clandestine graves where their missing loved ones might be buried or cremated.

The discovery of the clandestine grave site was quite alarming for the residents of Mexico City, according to CBS News, as this was the first time in recent memory that a clandestine grave site had been found in Mexico City.

Mexico City Officials Claim People Whose IDs Were Found on the Clandestine Grave Site Are Still Alive

Mexico City Chief Prosecutor Ulises Lara, meanwhile, provided an update on what happened after the clandestine grave site was discovered. He stated that they tracked down the people whose IDs were found on the clandestine grave site and "found that both of the people to whom those cards belonged are alive and in good health."

According to the Associated Press, Lara noted that these IDs may have been stolen from their original owners as one of the women they talked to told them that when thieves snatched her phone, they also took her ID. This also means that the possibility of the woman being one of the people whose remains were found in the burial pit has already been ruled out.

Investigations are ongoing, and authorities are reviewing security camera footage and looking for possible witnesses.

Mexico Is Home To Thousands of Clandestine Graves

Mexican authorities and these volunteer search groups have often worked together to search for these clandestine grave sites. From January 2007 to April 2023, a total of f 5,698 clandestine graves have been reported and more and more have been discovered ever since, including the new one in Mexico City.

According to El Pais, most of these clandestine grave sites are found in the states of Veracruz, Tamaulipas, and Guerrero. As of April 2023, Veracruz has the most with 668 clandestine grave sites, with Tamaulipas at second with 554. Meanwhile, Guerrero, which has recently experienced a surge in cartel violence, has 498. More sites have been found in these states since.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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