The federal Attorney General’s office (PGR) has announced it will investigate the 23 forced disappearances in Tamaulipas that were revealed by a United Nations report.

But 16 may already have been located — in hidden graves.

The PGR’s announcement came the day after the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said it had documented the disappearance of 21 men and two women in Nuevo Laredo from February until May 16, and that there were “strong indications” that federal forces were responsible.

Yesterday, a local human rights group that claims there are more than just 23 people missing said the bodies of 16 people had been found in secret graves. The bodies showed signs of violence and each had a bullet wound in the head, said Raymundo Ramos, president of the Nuevo Laredo Human Rights Committee.

Ramos said his organization has documented 57 cases of people who have disappeared.

He said the search for more bodies will continue but with caution. Relatives of the disappeared have received threats after reporting the cases to authorities, Ramos said.

As part of the investigation, federal human rights specialists will travel to Nuevo Laredo to interview the relatives of the missing.

Family members have been protesting the disappearances in Nuevo Laredo in recent weeks, charging that authorities have done little to help find their loved ones. One protest closed a truck crossing on the border on May 21.

Source: Milenio (sp)