Local authorities reported that at least 45 bags with human remains were found in a ravine in the Mexican state of Jalisco, and it is suspected that they could correspond to eight young people reported missing. The discovery took place on Tuesday on a 40-meter cliff in the municipality of Zapopan, near Guadalajara, and this Thursday the prosecutor’s office concluded the work to recover the bodies.
According to a statement from the state prosecutor’s office, the remains preliminarily coincide with the physical characteristics of some of the missing youths, but it will be necessary to confirm the number of bodies and their identities through the state Institute of Forensic Sciences.
The young people, six men and two women in their 30s, were last seen between May 22 and 29. They all worked at a call center, and it is suspected that the place where they worked was involved in illegal activities, such as fraud. However, the victims’ families have denied these accusations and accused the authorities of criminalizing the disappeared.
Jalisco is the state with the highest number of missing persons in Mexico, exceeding 15,000 according to federal government figures from 2022. In recent years, human remains have been found in bags or clandestine graves in different areas of the state. Jalisco has been the scene of several cases of violence and disappearances, generating protests and concern in society. The Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel operates in this state and is in dispute with other criminal gangs.
Mexico has been affected by organized crime-related violence, with more than 340,000 murders and some 100,000 disappearances since the beginning of the drug war in 2006. These figures reflect the serious security situation facing the country.