Corpses of 58 men and 14 women discovered after gun battle in northern state of Tamaulipas
 |
| Mexican navy officers seize slabs of cocaine in an operation last year. Photograph: Reuters |
Mexican marines have found the bodies of 72 people dumped at a rural northern location after a gun battle with suspected drug cartel members that left one marine and three suspects dead, the navy has reported.
The corpses of 58 men and 14 women were found at a spot near the Gulf coast, south of the border city of Matamoros. The site is thought to be the largest dumping ground of drug cartel victims found in Mexico since the president, Felipe Calderón, launched an offensive against drug trafficking in late 2006.
The navy said in a statement: "The federal government categorically condemns the barbarous acts committed by criminal organisations."
"Society as a whole should condemn these type of acts, which illustrate the absolute necessity to continue fighting crime with all rigour."
Mexican drug cartels often use waste ground, ranches or mine shafts to dump the bodies of executed rivals or kidnap victims. The navy gave no details on the victims' identities, on their killers or on whether the bodies had been buried.
The find came about when marines manning a checkpoint on a highway in the northern state of Tamaulipas were approached by a wounded man who said he had been attacked by cartel gunmen at a nearby ranch. The man was placed under the protection of federal authorities.
Navy aircraft were dispatched to the scene. When gunmen saw them, they opened fire on the marines and tried to flee in a convoy of vehicles.
In the ensuing shootout, one marine and three suspected gunmen were killed. Navy personnel seized 21 assault rifles, shotguns and rifles, and detained a minor.
The youth, who was apparently part of the gang, was handed over to civilian prosecutors.
When marines searched the area, near the town of San Fernando, Tamaulipas, they found the bodies. It was unclear whether the victims had been killed at the same time or separately, and the navy did not say when they were found.
The area has been the scene of bloody turf battles between the Gulf drug cartel and their former allies, the Zetas drug gang.
In May, the authorities found 55 bodies in an abandoned mine near Taxco, a colonial-era city south of Mexico City that is popular with international tourists.
In July, investigators found 51 corpses in two days of digging in a field near a rubbish dump outside the northern city of Monterrey. Many of those found were believed to have been rival traffickers, but cartels often dispose of the bodies of kidnap victims in such dumping grounds.
More than 28,000 people have been killed in violence tied to Mexico's drug war since the offensive began.
No comments:
Post a Comment