51 Bodies Found in Mass Graves in Mexico

In one of the more macabre discoveries of Mexico’s drug wars, soldiers have found at least 51 bodies dumped in mass graves after what appeared to be a series of executions by drug gangs in northern Mexico. The bodies were buried in several graves scattered over an area the size of three soccer fields in an isolated zone east of the city of Monterrey, Mexican officials said. Since receiving an anonymous tip on Thursday, soldiers have been using backhoes to dig up plots . There were so many bodies that the authorities were using refrigerated trucks to hold them. Alejandro Garza y Garza, the prosecutor for the state of Nuevo León, told local news media on Saturday that investigators were nearing the end of their search. Many of the dead, he said, appeared to have been tortured. “Some were tied up with rope, others taped up with their hands bound with tape,” he said. “There are others with handcuffs. Most of them have tattoos.” Photographs showed charred spots on the ground, suggesting some bodies may have been partially burned. Mexico’s drug cartels sometimes use corrosive liquids, fire and other methods to dispose of victims or make it harder to identify the bodies...more