Mexico City (dpa) – Officials recovered 38 bodies of apparent
victims of drug-cartel wars in northern Mexico and said the toll
would likely increase during the search through the weekend.
Police and soldiers used mechanical diggers to unearth the bodies
from six sites near the city of Monterrey, and planned to scour three
other locations, the Nuevo Leon state attorney general said.
Alejandro Garza said the remains of 36 men and two women between
20 and 50 years old had been found by Friday night.
Police had received an anonymous tip that a landfill was being
used as a “narco-tomb” in the municipality of Juarez, east of
Monterrey.
The bodies appeared to have been burnt, and some bore signs of
torture, an aide in Garza’s office said.
In June, police found more than 50 bodies in an abandoned mine
near the tourist town of Taxco.
Since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006, an
estimated 25,000 deaths have been attributed to organized crime.