Mexican authorities have uncovered 48 bags filled with human remains from a clandestine grave near Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco — one of the regions hardest hit by the country’s ongoing crisis of missing persons.
The gruesome discovery was made in Zapopan, an outlying municipality of Guadalajara, after a local search group located the site about four weeks ago. Officials said forensic analysis is underway to determine the number of victims represented by the remains.
“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.
Authorities are continuing excavation efforts with the support of the Guerreros Buscadores collective and the National Commission for the Search for Persons, using heavy machinery due to the size of the site.
Jalisco has become the epicenter of Mexico’s disappearance crisis, recording more than 15,900 missing persons — a toll widely attributed to the violent activities of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
The latest discovery follows a similar case in June when 34 bodies were found buried near a residential area in Zapopan. Nationwide, more than 127,000 people have disappeared since 2006, when Mexico launched its militarized anti-drug campaign.
In February, the United States designated the CJNG as a “foreign terrorist organization,” linking it to the trafficking of fentanyl — a deadly synthetic opioid responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in North America.
