23 bodies found in pits near thermal springs in Michoacan, Mexico

2192
23 bodies found in Michoacan (Photo: El Capitalino)

Prosecutors in the western Mexican state of Michoacan said they have located 23 sets of skeletal remains in a lakeside community known for its highly acidic hot springs and mud pits.

The prosecutor’s office in Michoacan said only eight of the bodies had been identified, mainly by clothing or dental records.

The rest of the bodies were found so badly deteriorated that DNA testing might be necessary, the office said on Sunday, July 10th.

It is unclear if criminals intentionally dumped the bodies in Villamar, in the area known as Los Negritos — after the black mud facial masks popular there — so they would disappear more quickly.

The area is near the town of La Barca, where authorities found more than five dozen bodies in mass graves linked to the Jalisco New Generation cartel back in 2013.

Drug cartels in Mexico frequently use clandestine burial pits to dispose of the bodies of kidnapping victims or rivals. Mexico currently has more than 100,000 people listed as missing.

Source: La Jornada

Michoacan Post