Six cities with high rates of violence and overcrowded morgues are using 12 refrigerated trailer containers to store unidentified bodies.
The revelation, published today by the newspaper Milenio, follows news last week that two trailers have been used to store unclaimed bodies in Guadalajara, Jalisco, including one containing 157 corpses that that was shuffled around the city’s metropolitan area earlier this month, drawing the ire of residents who complained of fetid odors.
Authorities in Guerrero have purchased 10 refrigerated containers with a combined capacity to store 900 bodies in order to relieve pressure on morgues in Acapulco, Chilpancingo and Iguala, where 707 corpses are currently held.
In Veracruz, the discovery of massive hidden graves and high levels of violence in recent years overwhelmed the morgues in Xalapa and Veracruz. To deal with the problem, the state government bought one refrigerated container with space for 300 bodies at the end of former governor Javier Duarte’s administration.
Last week, that container was replaced by one with almost double the capacity in order to cope with the increasing quantity of human remains recovered from a recently-discovered mass grave that is believed to be located in the small fishing village of Arbolillo.
Authorities in Tijuana, Baja California, also purchased a container recently with a capacity for 50 bodies in the face of a wave of violence in the border city, where there have been as many as 300 homicides per month this year.
“From January to August, 2,725 bodies came into the Tijuana morgue . . .” said Salvador Juan Ortiz, president of the state’s highest court.
He explained that 800 bodies were victims of intentional homicide and a further 815 were victims of other culpable offenses, adding that around 700 bodies have been buried in common graves.
More than 22,000 murders were recorded in Mexico in the first eight months of the year, almost 4,000 more than the number recorded in the same period last year.
Guanajuato has been the most violent state in Mexico this year in terms of sheer homicide figures, followed by Guerrero, México state, Chihuahua and Jalisco.
Source: Milenio (sp)
