Demand Mexico investigate mass killing site
Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report March 19 urging Mexican authorities to conduct a "thorough" and "impartial" investigation into an apparent mass killing site outside the city of Guadalajara, in Jalisco state.
According to the report, a local collective called the Jalisco Search Warriors on March 5 uncovered uncovered the site on an isolated ranch, where they found "bone fragments…hundreds of shoes, clothing items, charred human remains, and three underground ovens..." The discovery was made while attempting to locate missing individuals or their remains, with local citizens organizing the effort in the absence of a sufficient response by the authorities.
The discovery raised concerns among family members about apparent mass killings tied to criminal cartels, drawing international attention to the ongoing crisis of disappearances in Mexico and the government's failure to meaningfully respond.
Speaking of the discovery at Izaguirre Ranch in the municipality of Teuchitlan, HRW Americas director Juanita Goebertus stated: "President Claudia Sheinbaum should see this as a signal to undertake an urgent, nationwide effort to professionalize the investigation of crimes by state prosecutors' offices." Amnesty International has echoed this call, urging authorities to act expeditiously and open a comprehensive forensic investigation. Along with HRW, Amnesty emphasized that the Mexican government's slowness to investigate or prosecute forced disappearances creates an atmosphere of "total impunity," endangering family members of the disappeared.
The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) reported a staggering 111,521 persons missing in Mexico as of September 2023. The organization noted that under-reporting may indicate that actual numbers of missing persons are much higher. Jalisco, Tamaulipas and Estado de Mexico have the highest numbers of missing persons across Mexico, while 75% of missing persons throughout the country are men, and 25% are women.
HRW also condemned Mexican authorities in a 2023 report on the government's failure to investigate homicides due to systemic problems such as high workloads, limited resources and lack of coordination in official search efforts.
From JURIST, March 20. Used with permission.
See our last reports on Mexico's human rights crisis, and the body count.
Jalisco buscadores targeted over death ranch
On April 29, Mexico's Attorney General announced that there was no evidence that an abandoned ranch found by groups searching for missing relatives was used to cremate victims. The announcement directly contradicted the claims of groups like the Jalisco Search Warriors who initially visited the ranch, used simple tools to uncover clothing and human remains, and concluded that there was sufficient evidence to believe that bodies were burned at the site. Since the discovery, members of the search collectives have pleaded with the government for protection after facing threats from the cartel that managed the ranch, to no avail. In early March, Teresa González Murillo, a prominent buscadora, was killed after an attempted kidnapping. Last week, María del Carmen Morales, another prominent activist who initially helped uncover the mass grave, was murdered in Jalisco along with her son. The prosecutor’s office said the crime was unrelated to her activism. The state’s failure to protect members of the civilian collective is all the more troubling given that, as part of his announcement, Mexico’s attorney general confirmed that the camp was "absolutely" a site of recruitment and training for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the same group that directly threatened the "searching mothers" over their "false accusations." (NACLA Update)
Mexican police in March arrested José Gregorio Lastra, an alleged leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), in connection with kidnappings, torture and murders linked to the Rancho Izaguirre site. Security Minister Omar García Harfuch stated that he had been identified as the CJNG's "Commander Lastra" was responsible for the kidnappings, torture, and murders that took place at Rancho Izaguirre. (Aztec Reports)