Mexican authorities have discovered 48 bags containing human remains in a clandestine grave near Guadalajara, officials confirmed on Thursday, October 23.
The gruesome discovery was made in Zapopan, a large municipality bordering Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco state, which has long been plagued by violence linked to organized crime and the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Thousands of people have been reported missing in the region over the years.
According to the Jalisco State Prosecutor’s Office, the bags were first located about four weeks ago by a local volunteer search group on a vacant lot. Officials said the exact number of victims represented by the remains has yet to be determined.
“We need to make progress on the forensic issue so that we can tell you how many victims this number of bags represents,” said Blanca Trujillo, Deputy State Prosecutor for Missing Persons, during a press briefing.
Authorities stated that forensic experts are conducting detailed examinations to identify the victims. Members of the Guerreros Buscadores collective, a volunteer organization dedicated to searching for missing persons, have been working alongside the National Commission for the Search for Persons to assist in the operation.
Due to the scale of the site, heavy machinery has been deployed to aid excavation efforts.
The find adds to a growing list of mass graves discovered in Jalisco, the state hardest hit by Mexico’s ongoing crisis of disappearances. Since 2006—when the federal government launched a military campaign against drug cartels—more than 127,000 people have been reported missing nationwide.
In June 2024, forensic teams uncovered the remains of 34 individuals buried near a residential area in Zapopan. Official figures show that Jalisco alone accounts for over 15,900 missing persons cases, with authorities attributing much of the violence to the CJNG.
Earlier this year, the United States designated the CJNG as a foreign terrorist organization, identifying it as one of the major cartels behind fentanyl trafficking—a synthetic opioid responsible for tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the U.S.
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Source:Africa Publicity
