State and federal authorities are examining a property in Nayarit that was described by the state attorney general as an “extermination center” and “another version of the Izaguirre Ranch” — a site in Jalisco where the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) allegedly killed and/or cremated a significant number of people.

The property in Nayarit, located in the municipality of Xalisco south of state capital Tepic, was located by the Nayarit Attorney General’s Office on Saturday. An anonymous tip-off led authorities to the site in the community of La Curva where a “makeshift burner” and a pit containing the remains of recently cremated bodies were found, according to Nayarit Attorney General Elvia Ludmila Heredia Verdugo.

“Since October 3, we have been processing an incineration-based extermination center,” Heredia told a press conference on Monday.

“On Saturday, [searching] mothers joined the work. We’ve already found clothing and a makeshift burner. A drum is … filled with diesel, gasoline and soap. … Bodies are burned, bones are reduced to ashes, and they’re thrown into a [nearby] stream,” she said.

“… We’re also processing a grave where we’re collecting charred bones. … It turns out that we now have another version of the Izaguirre Ranch,” Heredia said.

Authorities have not said how many people they believe were killed and/or cremated at the property, and have not linked any specific criminal group to the site. The El Universal newspaper reported that there are “unconfirmed” claims that the property was used by the CJNG.

The discovery of clandestine graves where criminal groups have dumped bodies is common in Mexico. Such discoveries underscore Mexico’s disappearance crisis, with more than 130,000 people registered as missing or unaccounted for nationwide.

CNB sends a ‘technical team’ to Nayarit to strengthen search efforts

The National Search Commission (CNB) announced on Wednesday that it had sent a “technical team” to Nayarit to “strengthen the search work” at the property and contribute to the “rigorous and expeditious processing” of the site, “in coordination with the appropriate authorities.”

In a statement, the CNB noted that the Nayarit Attorney General’s Office is in charge of the processing of the site, the collection of evidence and “expert work” aimed at identifying the number of victims and their identities.

The CNB expressed its commitment to “accompanying” the families of missing people and ensuring that they receive “verified, transparent and timely information” about the progress made in examining the site and the “results” obtained.

Félix Arturo Medina Padilla, deputy minister for human rights in the Interior Ministry, of which the CNB is part, shared the search commission’s statement on social media, writing in the same post that “the search for missing persons is a national priority for the Mexican government.”

https://t.co/5UGi1snxI9

— Comisión Nal. de Búsqueda Mx (@Busqueda_MX) October 7, 2026

‘We are still here, we are still searching,’ says Nayarit-based collective 

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the Families United for Nayarit Collective (Cofaunnay) said that its members remained at the “search area” in the community of La Curva.

It said they are “monitoring the forensic recovery work derived from the discovery of human remains … at the property called ‘El Dragón.'”

“… The families [of missing people] continue to work with responsibility, respect and sensitivity, striving at all times to preserve the evidence, respect the investigative processes, and protect the dignity of the individuals and their families,” Cofaunnay said.

“… We will continue to do what we know how to do: search, accompany [authorities], document, and demand truth and justice. We are still here, until we find them. WE ARE STILL HERE. WE ARE STILL SEARCHING,” the collective said.

Alma Ríos, a member of the collective, told the Associated Press that the discovery of the property in the municipality of Xalisco has given her hope that her husband, Alberto López, can be found. Ríos has been searching for him since he was abducted in September 2019.

A reminder of the Izaguirre Ranch case 

As Heredia indicated, the recently-discovered property in Xalisco, Nayarit, has similarities to the Izaguirre Ranch, which was discovered in Teuchitlán, Jalisco, in early 2025 by a collective that searches for disappeared persons. In March 2025, the Warrior Searchers of Jalisco collective found more than 150 pairs of shoes and human remains at the ranch, leading various media outlets to dub the property an “extermination camp.”

However, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch subsequently said there was no evidence that the property was “an extermination camp.” Rather, it was “a training center” for the CJNG, he said in late March 2025.

Alleged CJNG recruiter and 2 police arrested in Izaguirre Ranch ‘extermination camp’ case

Nevertheless, human remains — some of which showed signs of cremation — were found on the property. It is not yet been been determined how many people they correspond to.

Earlier this year, the Federal Attorney General’s Office reported that 47 people had been arrested in connection with the Izaguirre Ranch case. Ten men implicated in the case received lengthy prison sentences last year after they were convicted of kidnapping and murder

With reports from EFE, El Universal, La Jornada and El País