Mexican authorities have uncovered as many as 48 bags containing human remains from a clandestine grave near Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco State, officials announced on Thursday.
The gruesome discovery was made about four weeks ago by a search group on a vacant lot in Zapopan, a large municipality within the Guadalajara metropolitan area, according to the state prosecutor’s office.
Authorities said they are still working to determine the exact number of victims represented by the remains found in the bags. They declined to provide an estimate but confirmed that the search operation in the area is ongoing.
“We need to make progress on the forensic issue so that we can tell you how many victims this number of bags represents,” said Blanca Trujillo, Deputy State Prosecutor for Missing Persons, during a press conference.
Officials noted that forensic experts will conduct a detailed analysis of the remains to establish the number of victims and their identities.
The recovery effort is being carried out with the support of members of the Guerreros Buscadores collective, a volunteer group that assists in searches for missing persons. Trujillo added that her office is collaborating with the National Commission for the Search for Persons, and that due to the vastness of the site, heavy machinery has been deployed to aid in the excavation.
The latest discovery adds to a growing number of similar mass grave cases in Jalisco, one of Mexico’s most violent states and the epicenter of the nation’s crisis of missing persons. More than 127,000 people have been reported missing across the country, according to official data.
Jalisco alone accounts for over 15,900 missing persons, a toll widely attributed to the activities of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) — one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent drug trafficking organizations.
Last June, forensic teams uncovered the remains of 34 people buried near a residential area in Zapopan.
In February, the United States formally designated the CJNG as a “foreign terrorist organization,” identifying it as a major criminal network responsible for trafficking fentanyl, a synthetic opioid linked to thousands of overdose deaths in the U.S.
The wave of disappearances and violence in Mexico has intensified since December 2006, when the federal government launched a military-led campaign against drug cartels — a move that has since plunged much of the country into sustained conflict.
