Sunday, August 31, 2025

Forensic institute head dismissed over Jalisco’s ‘morgue-on-wheels’

The head of the Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences has been dismissed for his role in the case of the refrigerated trailer carrying 157 bodies that was shuffled around the Guadalajara metropolitan area on the weekend.

There was no room for the semi-trailer’s cargo in overrun state morgues so it was first parked in a Tlaquepaque neighborhood until its foul odors triggered complaints that sent the trailer to another residential area in Tlajomulco de Zúñiga.

The offensive smells followed the trailer and its decomposing cargo, forcing authorities to send it to a warehouse in an industrial area of Guadalajara.

Yesterday Jalisco Governor Jorge Sandoval Díaz announced the dismissal of forensics chief Luis Octavio Cotero Bernal. He said the investigation into the morgue-on-wheels case was not closed and more dismissals could follow,

” . . . I understand and heartily regret the uncertainty caused by this kind of erratic action on the part of authorities,” the governor said.

He pledged that unidentified, unclaimed bodies would be treated with dignity at all times. “I promise to make up for this episode by providing an assurance that we will hire the best qualified staff . . . to avoid instances of negligence and indifference.”

The sanction imposed on Cotero should be an example for all public servants involved in the custody, transportation and handling of unreclaimed corpses, continued Sandoval, adding that he would not “tolerate dehumanizing treatment or alterations of established procedures.”

Source: El Financiero (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Preparations for Independence Day festivities in Mexico City's Zócalo are underway.

Mexico’s week in review: Trade talks with Brazil, tariffs on China and televised attacks

0
Highlights of the week of August 25 in Mexico included bilateral trade talks with Brazil, plans to raise tariffs on Chinese imports and political altercations caught on camera.
A cartoon shows two men with the words "Confidently wrong about San Miguel de Allende" and the Mexico News Daily logo

Do you have friends or family who are ‘Confidently Wrong’ about Mexico? A perspective from our CEO

14
Mexico News Daily CEO Travis Bembenek introduces "Confidently Wrong," a new podcast that clears up misinformation about Mexico.
News quiz

The MND News Quiz of the Week: August 30th

1
F1, fashion and flaming axolotls: Have you been keeping up with the headlines this week?
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity