Authorities Searched and Left—Then a Mexican Citizens’ Group Exposed a Cartel ‘Mass Extermination’ Site
Cartel violence has gripped Mexico for decades. Innocent people have been caught in the crossfire as cartels have feuded and government administrations tried cracking down. According to data from the Mexican government, 120,000 people disappeared in Mexico. Families, fed up with unanswered questions, have created search collectives across the country. One of those collectives made a gruesome discovery, and it is bringing heartbreaking closure to some families.
A citizens’ search collective discovered what Mexican authorities missed
This month, after an anonymous tip, a group of citizens descended on a location in Teuchitlan, Jalisco, Mexico. The tip claimed that there were undiscovered bodies and evidence of people who had disappeared. Mexican officials searched the location in September 2024, and they arrested people and released hostages, according to NPR. Yet, the anonymous tip claimed that the search was insufficient and that there was more.
The Jalisco Search Warriors group searched the location and uncovered dozens of pairs of shoes, clothing, and what appeared to be burned bone fragments.
“A lot of families have stepped forward to identify items of clothing,” one of the group members named Maribel told reporters. Maribel added: “What we want is to stop all of this, the disappearances. We hope that this time, they’ll do the work as they should.”
The discovery shocked the group, and they made it known to Mexico and the Mexican government. After their discovery, the federal and state governments sent resources to capture and catalog the evidence properly.
Advocates hope the federal government will step up to handle cartel violence
The ranch holds a horrifying secret. Along with the personal belongings, three crematoriums were found on the property. The ranch, according to officials, was used for mass extermination.
“This ranch served as a training site and even though it sounds awful, really harsh, for extermination,” the Jalisco Search Warriors leader, Indira Navarro, told reporters.
Navarro called for answers about how this evidence wasn’t found before. The state prosecutor’s office searched the premises before the Jalisco Search Warriors went to the ranch. The state prosecutor’s office used a backhoe, dogs, and devices to search the ranch. They missed a large collection of evidence to bring answers to some families.
According to a statement, the Jalisco state prosecutor’s office is investigating the first search they conducted. In the statement, the state prosecutor’s office “has been reviewing what happened and how thoroughly the site was inspected at the time, in order to determine whether any field procedures were neglected by the personnel then assigned during the previous Administration.”
According to Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus, the federal government is taking over the investigation. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Wednesday that the federal Attorney General’s office will work with the Jalisco government to work on the ranch.
There have been multiple discoveries of gruesome sites like this around Mexico in the last couple of months. In December 2024, authorities discovered 31 bodies in the Mexican state of Chiapas, which has been plagued by cartel violence.
