100 bodies dumped in mass grave by Mexican security

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican authorities are investigating local security officials who put at least 105 unidentified victims of violent crime in a mass grave in central Mexico, officials said on Friday. The bodies were found in a small, indigenous community in the state of Morelos, which has one of the highest kidnapping rates in the country, said state prosecutor Javier Perez. The officials are being investigated for dereliction of duty and violation of laws covering the burial of cadavers, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. It did now specify how many officials are being investigated, or how long the mass grave is believed to have been in use.

The surge in drug cartel violence across Mexico over the last decade has left a large number of victims whom authorities fail to identify. They are often dumped in communal graves in cemeteries after being granted official permits to do so, however this site was not authorized, said Mr Perez. The bodies were found in plastic bags and most, but not all, included a bottle that contained a case number from police investigations, according to an official from the state human rights commission who requested anonymity due not being authorized to speak with media. “They were all together in one giant pit,” the official said.