At least 56 bodies have been discovered in unmarked mass graves in northern Mexico, not far from the border with the United States, local prosecutors said Saturday in a statement.
The remains included some bodies, some complete skeletons and other partial remains, as well as clothing and bullet casings. They were exhumed earlier this week in Chihuahua state — which lies along a drug and migrant trafficking route to the U.S. — in a military-aided operation that lasted several days, the statement said.
Prosecutors gave no details about the possible identities of the victims.
The remains have been sent to a forensics lab to determine the time and cause of death, with hopes that the victims can be identified, prosecutors said.
The bodies were exhumed in an area known as “El Willy,” controlled by a criminal organization called La Linea — one of the armed branches of the Juárez cartel active on the border, according to local media.
Mass graves are not uncommon throughout Mexico, especially in areas plagued by cartel violence. There are over 345,000 people in Mexico who have been reported missing, according to the country’s national registry.
Last month, Mexican authorities discovered 12 bodies buried in clandestine graves in Mexico’s northern Chihuahua state. Another 12 bodies were also found in several graves about two hours from Ciudad Juarez, which lies across the border from El Paso, Texas.
More than 450,000 people have been murdered countrywide since Mexico launched a major offensive against drug cartels in 2006.
One of the largest mass graves in Mexico was reported in 2017 when more than 250 skulls were found in what appears to be a drug cartel mass burial ground on the outskirts of the city of Veracruz.
