Seven bodies found in new mass grave in northern Mexico

Seven bodies found in new mass grave in northern Mexico

2011-11-22 22:20:38 GMT+7 (ICT)

DURANGO, MEXICO (BNO NEWS) -- Mexican security forces have discovered seven bodies in another mass grave in the northern region of the country, officials said on Tuesday.

After two days of exploration and digging, Mexican Army personnel found the mass grave on Monday with seven bodies in an advanced state of decomposition in the Leona Vicario community in the municipality of San Juan del Rio in Durango state, some 80 kilometers (49 miles) north of the state's capital.

Search operations for the mass grave had begun on Saturday. Durango's Attorney General's Office said operations at the site would continue on Tuesday to determine whether there are more bodies in the area.

In April, investigations after the arrest of several criminals led to the discoveries of thirteen mass graves, nine of them in Durango. In total, authorities reported having found at least 280 bodies, nearly all of them victims from the bloody drug war.

Earlier this year, authorities also unearthed 183 bodies from mass graves in San Fernando municipality, which is located in the state of Tamaulipas. The victims, some of them migrants from Guatemala, were believed to be people who had refused to enlist within the rank of the 'Los Zetas' drug cartel. Arrest warrants were later issued for 73 people who were allegedly involved in the killings.

And in July, a mass grave containing at least 12 bodies was discovered in the municipality of Benito Juarez, which is located within the metropolitan area of Monterrey in Nuevo Leon state, after two pedestrians saw two decomposed bodies inside two plastic bags on the road. One year earlier, the Mexican army found a mass grave with 51 bodies in the same municipality after it received an anonymous report.

According to government figures, a total of 15,273 drug-related crimes occurred in Mexico in 2010, while more than 30,000 people have died in drug-related violence since Mexican President Felipe Calderon began his campaign to fight organized crime in December 2006.

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