By Lorena Figueroa
El Paso Times
Borderland Beat
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The number of bodies found over the weekend in 15 clandestine graves in a ranch in the Valley of Juárez is now at 20, with a search for more bodies continuing, officials said Monday.
The victims were asphyxiated, shot or beaten and their ages ranged from 18 to 40 years old, said Jorge Enrique González Nicolás, the regional state prosecutor.
"The next step is to begin the process of identifying the bodies," he said during a Monday press conference.
The bodies were discovered sometime between Friday and Saturday in a deserted area in "La Colorada" ranch, located in Ejido Jesús Carranza, near the U.S. border about 25 miles southeast of Juárez.
González Nicolás said that there were 20 clandestine graves in the property. The bodies were found in 15 of them.
More than 100 state agents, investigators, K-9 units, anthropology forensic scientists and forensics experts participated in locating the human remains, according to the state prosecutor's office.
González Nicolás added that U.S. agents collaborated with Mexican authorities on Friday. He did not elaborate from what U.S. agency was involved, but said that they worked at the U.S. Consulate in Juárez.
Consulate officials said in a statement that it "always maintains open communication with our Mexican counterparts" and directed questions to federal law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, DEA, and ICE.Ê
"They (U.S. agents) complemented the investigation with intelligence work," González Nicolás emphasized. "México is leading the investigation."
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When asked if U.S. citizens can be among the victims, the regional state's prosecutor did not discard that possibility.
"Up to now, we do not have any information, but we cannot be sure until we identify the bodies," he said.
González Nicolás said that the bodies have been taken to the medical examiner's office in Juárez. There, authorities will take dental and DNA samples from the victims and make an inventory of the victims' clothes to compare it with the reports of those who have disappeared.
Although he estimated that the identification of all the bodies could take months, he said "it will depend on how much we have on hand."
He said some of the bodies had certain characteristics that make the identification easier. One of the bodies, for example, had a piercing in his mouth, he added.
According to the state prosecutor's office, the bodies apparently were buried two years ago at the height of battles between drug gangs seeking to control smuggling routes across the border. Federal statistics show more than 3,000 people were killed in 2010 in Juárez.
González Nicolás could not confirm reports from Mexican media that the discovery of the bodies was based on the information given to U.S. authorities by José Antonio Acosta Hernández, alias "El Diego," who was the leader of the Juárez drug cartel's La Línea, which is linked to 1,500 homicides in Mexico, including the slaying of three people tied to the U.S. Consulate in Juárez.
Acosta Hernández is currently serving 10 life terms in a maximum security prison in the United States. He was extradited last year from México, where he was arrested.
However, González Nicolás would only say that U.S. authorities and information given by people that already are in custody for a variety of crimes, including homicide, led Mexican authorities to the ranch.
González Nicolás said the search for human remains will continue in the same area and other properties near La Colorada ranch this week.
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El Paso Times
Borderland Beat
The bodies were discovered sometime between Friday and Saturday in a deserted area in "La Colorada" ranch, located in Ejido Jesús Carranza, near the U.S. border about 25 miles southeast of Ciudad Juarez.
The number of bodies found over the weekend in 15 clandestine graves in a ranch in the Valley of Juárez is now at 20, with a search for more bodies continuing, officials said Monday.
The victims were asphyxiated, shot or beaten and their ages ranged from 18 to 40 years old, said Jorge Enrique González Nicolás, the regional state prosecutor.
"The next step is to begin the process of identifying the bodies," he said during a Monday press conference.
The bodies were discovered sometime between Friday and Saturday in a deserted area in "La Colorada" ranch, located in Ejido Jesús Carranza, near the U.S. border about 25 miles southeast of Juárez.
González Nicolás said that there were 20 clandestine graves in the property. The bodies were found in 15 of them.
More than 100 state agents, investigators, K-9 units, anthropology forensic scientists and forensics experts participated in locating the human remains, according to the state prosecutor's office.
González Nicolás added that U.S. agents collaborated with Mexican authorities on Friday. He did not elaborate from what U.S. agency was involved, but said that they worked at the U.S. Consulate in Juárez.
Consulate officials said in a statement that it "always maintains open communication with our Mexican counterparts" and directed questions to federal law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, DEA, and ICE.Ê
"They (U.S. agents) complemented the investigation with intelligence work," González Nicolás emphasized. "México is leading the investigation."
The bodies were discovered sometime between Friday and Saturday in a deserted area in "La Colorada" ranch, located in Ejido Jesús Carranza, near the U.S. border about 25 miles southeast of Ciudad Juarez.
When asked if U.S. citizens can be among the victims, the regional state's prosecutor did not discard that possibility.
"Up to now, we do not have any information, but we cannot be sure until we identify the bodies," he said.
González Nicolás said that the bodies have been taken to the medical examiner's office in Juárez. There, authorities will take dental and DNA samples from the victims and make an inventory of the victims' clothes to compare it with the reports of those who have disappeared.
Although he estimated that the identification of all the bodies could take months, he said "it will depend on how much we have on hand."
He said some of the bodies had certain characteristics that make the identification easier. One of the bodies, for example, had a piercing in his mouth, he added.
According to the state prosecutor's office, the bodies apparently were buried two years ago at the height of battles between drug gangs seeking to control smuggling routes across the border. Federal statistics show more than 3,000 people were killed in 2010 in Juárez.
González Nicolás could not confirm reports from Mexican media that the discovery of the bodies was based on the information given to U.S. authorities by José Antonio Acosta Hernández, alias "El Diego," who was the leader of the Juárez drug cartel's La Línea, which is linked to 1,500 homicides in Mexico, including the slaying of three people tied to the U.S. Consulate in Juárez.
Acosta Hernández is currently serving 10 life terms in a maximum security prison in the United States. He was extradited last year from México, where he was arrested.
However, González Nicolás would only say that U.S. authorities and information given by people that already are in custody for a variety of crimes, including homicide, led Mexican authorities to the ranch.
González Nicolás said the search for human remains will continue in the same area and other properties near La Colorada ranch this week.
