At Least 44 Bodies Stuffed in Bags Discovered Buried in Well in Mexico

At least 44 bodies stuffed in about 100 black bags were identified by Mexican officials after they were discovered several weeks ago, officials said. The remains were discovered on Sept. 3 in a well near the city of Guadalajara in Jalisco State after residents reported a foul odor, reported the BBC. “It saddens me to speak in this way, but society has a right to know what is happening,” Jalisco security cabinet chief Macedonio Tamez Guajardo told Mexican news website Milenio. Elaborating on the grisly discovery, Guajardo said the bodies were in various states of decomposition. The Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences said on Sept. 14 that 44 people have been identified, Fox News reported. The BBC reported that the bodies were dismembered, making the identification process more difficult. Some of the remains are still not identified. A local organization that searches for missing people appealed to the local government to send more officials to help identify the remains. They said  that the local forensic department cannot handle the task, adding that it is overwhelmed, according to the broadcaster. Officials said they are investigating the mass grave and the discovery of six bodies at a safe house in August, the Mexico News Daily reported. In May, officials in Jalisco found 34 bodies on two separate properties. Jalisco is home to one of the most violent drug cartels in the country, known as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, according to the News Daily. The publication also said that as of July 2019, some 20,135 people have been killed in Mexico, representing a 3 percent increase compared to the previous period last year. Officials said that 2018 was the most violent year since Mexican officials began keeping records more than 20 years ago...MORE