MEXICO CITY (AP) – Authorities in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato have reported the discovery of 32 bodies on a property located in the municipality of Irapuato. Nearly half of these bodies have been identified, according to a statement from the Guanajuato state prosecutor's office.
The grim discovery was made on Monday via a post on social media platform X, revealing that the bodies were located in clandestine graves at a site in the community of La Calera, situated on the northern side of Irapuato, approximately 320 kilometers (200 miles) northwest of Mexico City. Forensic teams have been working at the site since July 30 to recover and identify the remains.
This significant find comes less than two months after a violent incident in Irapuato during which a mass shooting at a street party resulted in the deaths of 12 individuals. The ongoing violence in Guanajuato can be largely attributed to the ongoing conflict between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the indigenous Santa Rosa de Lima organized crime group.
Recent reports indicate that Guanajuato has experienced a wave of violence, leading to over 1,500 homicides recorded from January to July of this year. This troubling trend highlights the state’s ongoing struggle with organized crime, further compounded by the frequent practice of burying victims in clandestine graves by criminal organizations.
As the situation escalates, the Mexican government has documented nearly 132,000 missing persons nationally, underlining the severity of the crisis related to organized crime and the disappearance of individuals in various regions of the country. The continued efforts of forensic teams at the site in La Calera are crucial in not just identifying the victims but also in understanding the broader implications of this violence within Guanajuato and beyond.
The discovery of these bodies serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing issues faced by Mexico in combating organized crime and the repercussions of cartel violence on local communities. As authorities continue their investigations, the focus remains not only on identifying the deceased but also on dismantling the networks that contribute to such rampant violence across the region.
