More clandestine graves found in Iguala

MEXICO CITY, D.F.- (SinEmbargo, Thursday, October 23, 2014).-- Members of the organization "Union de Pueblos Originarios de Guerrero (UPOEG: Union of Original Peoples of Guerrero) reported this afternoon that between seven and nine more clandestine grave sites with human remains have been found in the Loma del Zapatero (Zapatero Hill), Iguala.

Manuel Vazquez Quintero, lawyer for the organization confirmed that the graves contain recently buried cadavers and that the discovery was made today by one of the teams that go out every day to look for the 43 disappeared students in the rural area of Iguala. "They are higher up from the graves they found on the Loma del Zapatero , and they (contain) recent bodies (sic)," said the lawyer. Another UPOEG source said the bodies were treated with acid.

At this time, other UPOEG members are headed up to the site, where the PGR (Procuraduria General de la Republica (Office of Attorney General)) found four clandestine graves with human remains some weeks ago. "We're going to gather information to call in the PGR  so they will go up to the grave sites", he said. Miguel Angel Jimenez Blanco, also a UPOEG member, confirmed the existence of human remains in one of the graves, where there were remains of (human) skin, hair and some huaraches (sandals) "burned with acid, not fire. The smell is hideous... a little flesh remains. It is not possible to determine how many bodies there are, but the graves are fresh".

The activist describes the existence of seven similar pits in an area with canyons close to the Colonia Zapatero de Iguala.  "They are 2 meters long by 1/2 meter wide. There could be three more grave sites right here, and our companions are telling us that, higher up in the hills, there are 10 more excavations, which could bring the total to 20 (graves)", said the community police member in a telephone interview. He said that no authorities from any level of government has shown up yet. La Loma del Zapatero is very close to an area known as "La Joya", where they found 4 clandestine graves some weeks ago.

According to the residents of the Colonia San Miguelito, very close to La Joya, the area is known as a place of torture and death, where Hummers, Jeeps, pickups, motorcycles, and also municipal police vehicles, would go up. A young man who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, informed SinEmbargo that when the normalistas (student teachers) disappeared, he heard vehicles moving in the area and shooting.

According to this young man, it was common for some time to hear shots fired with "cuernos de chivo" (AK 47), and vehicles coming and going in the middle of the night and at dawn. A woman who works at a small grocery store said that organized crime activities took place there. "I would attend to them here, but one doesn't say anything, I would ring up their purchases, and that's it", she said. 

With this discovery, the community police have located around 26 clandestine graves since they began their searches. "We're not leaving until we find the boys; that's our only objective," said Manuel Vazquez.