11 hidden graves in Colima yield 19 bodies, and there may be more

Nineteen bodies have been discovered in 11 hidden graves in the high-crime municipality of Tecomán, Colima.

The state attorney general’s office (FGE) announced on Twitter that the bodies were found after police obtained a search warrant for a property in the community of Santa Rosa.

The investigation has been under way for several weeks.

The FGE said the bodies had been transferred to the coroner’s office for autopsies and to begin the process of comparing the victims’ DNA with national banks and registries to determine if any of those found have been reported as missing.

Governor Ignacio Peralta Sánchez said that although the investigation has only discovered 19 bodies so far, the state would not rule out the possibility that there could be many more.

On Monday, federal undersecretary for human rights Alejandro Encinas declared that Mexico is an “enormous hidden grave” during a press conference in which he presented a 400-million-peso (US $21-million) initiative to fund searches for missing persons — at least 40,000 people, according to the government’s own estimate — and to combat forced disappearances.

According to statistics from the National Public Security System, Colima was one of the most violent states in 2018 with 81 homicides per 100,000 residents.

In March, Tecomán was the most violent municipality in Mexico, with a violence index of 103.83. The national average was 23.4.

Source: Milenio (sp), El Universal (sp)